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COURSE OF LESSONS 

IN THE 

FRENCH LANGUAGE, 



ROBERTSON IAN METHOD; 



INTENDED FOR 

THE USE OF PERSONS STUDYING THE LANGUAGE 
WITHOUT A TEACHER. 



A. H. MONTEITH, ESQ 

HON. MEMB. OF THE W. L. C. 




Stxtf) ^rtttou. 



LONDON: 

PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL GILBERT, 

51 & 52, PATERNOSTER ROW; 

AND SOLD BY JOHN FIELD, 65, REGENT'S QUADRANT. 



M.DCCC.XLI1I. 






ton DON i 
PrlotH b> Manning «d.I HwOS. Ivviaoe, Palernoi.rr K«w. 



PREFACE. 



The object of the present course of lessons is to give persons 
disposed to study the French language without the aid of a 
teacher some directions for their guidance, and to furnish them 
with a model whereon their studies may be advantageously 
prosecuted. 

In order the more perfectly to supply the part of a teacher, 
a comprehensive, and at the same time practical, view of pro- 
nunciation has been given, together with such elucidations of 
the sounds peculiarly French as will enable the learner to 
enunciate them with a sufficient degree of accuracy. 

The prevalent notion that it is impossible to acquire French 
without a teacher, appears to have arisen from the lugubrious 
attempts of grammarians who have undertaken to explain the 
pronunciation of the language. No human intellect could 
possibly digest, and bring to bear on the words of the language, 
the pages of unintelligible rules and ill-organised observations 
they have amassed with this view. In the present course of 
lessons this prolixity has been carefully avoided; and whilst no 
useless detail has been introduced, every essential point is fully 
explained and brought prominently before the observation of 
the learner. French words being written in most cases exactly 
as they should be pronounced, there is nothing to prevent the 
acquisition of their pronunciation by theory; and the generality 
of persons who study the language, by relying upon the ear, 
that deceives them at every step, and by loosing sight of the 
theory, neglect the only certain means whereby they can 
acquire a really good pronunciation. 



PREFACE. 

A great many otherwise intelligent persons run away with 
the idea that French may be acquired by going to France: this 
is an excessively vulgar notion, and means that the language 
may be acquired by intuition, or some other magical process. 
Whether in France or England, persons of mature years will 
not acquire the language thoroughly without a diligent and 
assiduous study of its principles: hundreds of pounds have been 
expended by Englishmen, both in this country and in France, 
with a view to acquire French, without having attained the 
desired object — all the wealth of the Indies, and all the 
teachers in Christendom, will not suffice for the purpose, 
where diligence or intelligence is wanting on the part of the 
learner himself. On the other hand, any Englishman of 
ordinary capacity, whether in his own country or in France, 
whether with or without a teacher, if he set his mind earnestly 
to the subject, may in the course of twelve or eighteen months 
become perfectly conversant with the language. 

The present short course of lessons, besides containing a 
full apO$6 of the pronunciation, comprises an explanation of 
the chief difficulties the learner has to encounter, and will 
enable the diligent student, without the aid of any kind of 
oral instruction whatever, to see his way clearly into the 
materiel of the language. 



NOTICE TO FIFTH EDITION. 
The author, in revising the preceding editions of these 
lessons, has been much assisted by the observations of his 
correspondents. He takes this opportunity of thanking them 
for their valuable assistance, and will be happy to receive any 
further suggestions relative to the emendation or improvement 
of his works they may be pleasea to favour him with. 

13, London Wall, 
August, 184a 



THE FRENCH LANGUAGE. 



LESSON FIRST. 



READING. 

Trois voyageurs trouverent un tresor dans leur 
chemin, et dirent, " nous avons faim, qu'un de nous 
aille acheter de quoi manger," un d'eux se detacha 
et alia dans l'intention de leur apporter de quoi faire 
un repas. 



Before the learner can read the above, he must first be 
taught the pronunciation of the words and their meaning. 
We shall therefore place under each word such a combina- 
tion of letters as may convey a notion of its sound to the 
English student. Afterwards we shall exhibit the meaning of 
each word in a literal translation of the entire passage. This 
done, the learner will be able to translate into English and to 
pronounce the text of the lesson, if not with absolute accuracy, 
at least with a sufficiently close approximation. It is not indeed 
to be expected that the learner should be altogether perfect the 
first step he makes in a language. A portion of each lesson 
will be reserved to point out the true pronunciation of such 
French sounds as cannot be exactly exhibited by a combination 
of letters. 



The following is a repetition of the text, with the pronun- 
ciation of the words, as also their euphonic connexion one 
with another, according as the language is read and spoken 
by a well educated native of Paris. 

Trois voyageurs trouverent un tresor dans leur 
Trwa wa-ee-a-shair troo-vair-t w un* traizor dan lair 

chemin, et dirent, "nous avons faim, qu'un de nous aille 
she-min ai deer, noo-z w av-on fin, kun w d noo-z w ah-\e 

acheter de quoi manger," un d'eux se detacha et 

ash-tai w d kwa ma/i-shay, un d w al w s day-tash-a ai 

alia dans l'intention de leur apporter de quoi faire 

al-la dan \in-ten-see-on w d tall ap-por-tai w d kwa fair 

un repas. 
un er-pa. 

In order to read the above as it ought to be, the learner 
should deal with the verbal pronunciation we have given just 
as if the combinations of letters that represent the French 
sounds were so many English words. There are no unheard 
of sounds in French that require the features to l>e distorted 
in enunciating them. The learner must avoid all straining, 
all effort, if he desires to speak French correctly. 

Before leaving this part of the Bubject we may observe, that 
a little attention to the pronunciation now will be worth more 
thati a hundred times the amount of labour afterwards; the 
same words will occur over and over again throughout this 
lesson and those that are to follow, so that a correct pronun- 
ciation at the outset will be of the greatest utility. 

The sign w we have used indicates that the words or 
letters it joins are to be pronounced as one word, and the sign 
- over the ai signifies that these letters should be pronounced 
with a more open sound than usual. 

• For the pronunciation of the comhinations an, en, in, on, and un, marked 
in italics, we refer the student to the article Pronunciation, page 13. 



VOCABULARY. 



TRANSLATION. 



Trois voyageurs trouverent un tresor dans leur chemin, 
Three travellers found a treasure in their road, 

et dirent, " nous avons faim, qu'un de nous 

and said, we have hunger, that one of us 

aille acheter de quoi manger," un 

may go (let one of us go) to buy of what (whereof) to eat, one 

d'eux se detacha et alia dans ^intention de leur 

of them himself detached and went in the intention of to them 

apporter de quoi faire un repas. 

to bring of what (whereof) to make a repast- 
Aided by the above translation the student may read into 
good English the text itself. And now that the meaning of 
the words, as well as their pronunciation, are understood, the 
learner should accustom himself to reading the French aloud; 
this exercise will familiarise the ear with a correct enunciation 
of the words, and serve to impress them more firmly on the 
memorv. 



VOCABULARY. 



As it is essential to the march of our method that the 
learner should be perfectly familiar with every French word 
introduced into a lesson, both as regards its general meaning 
and precise logical value, we shall range all the words with 
their various translations in separate columns, so that he may 
be enabled to test his proficiency in this particular. This 
may be done advantageously in the following manner : cover 
over with a card the English column, and translate each 
French word aloud ; verifying this translation by removing the 
card from the translation given of it. After all the French 
words have been turned into English in this way, cover over 
the French column of words, and translate in the same manner 

b2 



VOCABULARY. 



the English words into French. This exercise should be 
repeated until all the English words can be rendered into 
French and the French words into English with perfect facility. 



Trois . 








three 


voyageurs 






travellers 


trouverent 






found 


un 






(one 










trcsor . 








treasure 


dans . 








in 

/ their 
{to them 


leur 








die min 








road 


et . . 








and 


dirent . 








said 
, we 


nous . 
















(US 


avons . 








have 


faim 








bung 

i tli.it 
(what 


que 








de . . 








of 


aille . 








may g< 


acheter 








to buy 


qaoi 








what 


manger 








to eat 


eux 








them 

(himself 
(themselves 


Be . 








uetaeha 








detached 


alia . 








went 


la . . 








the 


intention 








intention 


apporter 








to bring 


faire . 








J to make 
I to do 


repaa , 

U«(>rvi>«l fli 


it 1 


DTI 


p ( 


repast. 
f the French \ 



significations, as in the case of the word lour, meaning in one 
case their, and in another, to them; the reason of this will be 
explained under the head Constri < HON. 



PHRASES. 

Not only must the learner, who desires to profit by our 
lessons, make himself familiar with each word in a sentence, 
but he must also observe carefully how words are made up into 
sentences, and the difference between the French and English 
manner of constructing phrases. All the points in which the 
French construction differs from the English must be sedulously 
noted and stored up in the memory. To assist the learner in 
doing this, we shall now arrange the sentences of the lesson, 
with their English equivalents, in opposite columns, so that 
the student may subject himself to self-examination in the 
same manner as in the case of the previous exercise. 

Trois voyageurs trouverent Three travellers found 
un tresor a treasure 

Et dirent And said 

Nous avons faim .... We are hungry 

Q, i .,, (Let one of us go 

u un de nous aille . > \r\ c * 

(One or us must go 

Acheter And buy 

rWhereof 

De quoi J Where withal 

4 ] The wherewith 

l Something 

Manger To eat 

Un d'eux One of them 

Se detacha Departed 

Et alia And went 

Dans l'intention .... In the intention 
De leur apporter ... Of bringing to them 
De quoi faire .... Wherewith to make 
Un repas A meal. 

It will be observed, that the phrases as well as the words have 
occasionally two translations in English : quun de nous aille, for 
instance, is rendered in English by one of us must go, as well as 
let one of us go. It will be observed, at the same time, that 
these English expressions are as nearly as possible equivalent 
in meaning. 



CONVERSATION. 

One of the original features in the present course of lessons, 
and certainly not one of the least utility, is that of introducing 
in the first lesson an exercise in conversation, on the subject- 
matter of the lesson, and in the words of which it consists. 
Facility in conversation is the object sought by every student 
of French ; but is not to be attained by the usual mode of 
instruction. In this particular our first lesson will place the 
learner on a par with the student who has obtained his Degree 
at the University of Oxford or Cambridge, where the most 
able masters may be supposed to preside. 

In order to converse in French it will be necessary to become 

familiar with the following words used in asking questions: — 

Ou where, pronounced like oo in a 

Qoand when „ kang. 

Qui who ,, ket • • t i i 14 .1 

-giving the letters the 

Qae what ,, ki ' sound tiny have in 

lis they „ eel 

II hi> ,, tei 



L the English word kill. 



.oiving 



tlio n\ the sound 



Tour fir „ poor f they have in the word 

| good. 
Le the before words in the singular, pronounced like the 

letter /. 
Les ///<■ before words in the plural, pronounced like /<■ in 

the word /■ /. 
Oni pronounced we 

Non no „ nong 

Monsieur, sir „ >/kis-i/,i/.' 

* VVr arc always disposed t>> laugh when we hear nn Englishman pro- 
nounce tin- word " Monsieur," lie gnu-rally makes such n mess of it. It 
seems impossible to teach this sound by the car: not two in twenty 
Englishmen, who have been taught the language by B master, pronounce it 
correctly, and yet there is no French sound more easily depicted to the eye. 
We have heard persons who have been one, two, nay three years under 
tBtelage, pron— Pea the word as if written moo-too; now nothing could he 
more prating to the ear of a well-educated Frenchman than to hear hiins.lt 
iddresM d l>y roch a barbarism as moo-too. The word monsieur is pronounced 
as if written mot-yai, and tin- plural metiieurt as if written mes-yai ; could 
anything he plainer than thi^.' 



CONVERSATION. 7 

The pronunciation and meaning of all the other words 
introduced into the conversation have been already given. If 
then the previous exercises have been carefully gone over, 
there can be no difficulty with this. The learner should 
pronounce each question aloud, and proceed with the answers 
in the same manner as with the translation of the words and 
sentences. 

Que trouverent les trois voya- Un tresor 

geurs ? 

Les trois voyageurs trouve- Oui, Monsieur. 

rent-ils un tresor? 

Ou ? Dans leur chemin. 

Trouverent-ils de quoi man- Non, Monsieur. 

Que dirent-ils? lis dirent "nous avons faim." 

Quand ? Quand ils trouverent le tresor. 

Dirent-ils "nous avons de Non, Monsieur. 



quoi manger 



?» 



Dirent-ils " nous avons de Non, Monsieur. 

quoi faire un repas ?" 
Dirent-ils " qu'un de nous Oui, Monsieur. 

aille acheter de quoi man- 
ger ?" 
Quand dirent-ils " nous avons Quand ils trouverent le tresor. 

faim? 
Ou dirent-ils " qu'un de nous Dans leur chemin. 

aille acheter de quoi 

manger ?" 

Qui se detacha? Un d'eux. 

Se detacha-t-il ? Oui, Monsieur. 

Quand ? Quand les voyageurs dirent 

"nous avons faim." 
Pourquoi se detacha-t-il ? . . Pour acheter de quoi manger. 

Ou alla-t-il ? II alia leur acheter de quoi 

faire un repas. 
Alla-t-il dans Pintention d'ap- Oui, Monsieur. 

porter de quoi faire un 

repas ? 
Quand ?....... Quand il se detacha. 

Que dirent les trois voyageurs Qu'un de nous aille acheter de 

quand ils trouverent un quoi faire un repas. 

tresor ? 



CONSTRUCTION. 



Quand, les trois voyageurs Un tresor. 

dirent "nous avons faim," 

que trouverent-ils ? 
Quand, les trois voyageurs Quand ils dirent "nous avons 

trouverent-ils un tresor? faim." 



CONSTRUCTION. 

We shall now point out such peculiarities in the structure of 
the passage we have given as may serve to illustrate generally 
the construction of the language. 

I. 

Que trouverent les trois voya- What found the three tra- 

geuis ? veiled. 

Quand trouverent-ils le tresor? When found they the treasure? 
Dans /'intention, for dans hi In the intention. 

intention. 

It will be observed h\ these phrases, that the French word 

equivalent to the English article the has three forms, viz. — 
h, In, and let. The French article is disposed in the following 
manner : 

/. U used before a noun in the masculine gender. 

/,/ „ ,, feminine gender. 

leg ,. ,, plural number of both genders. 

In English the word the is invariable: whether it comes 
before a masculine, a feminine, or a plural noun, it is always 
the same. The English say, tor instance, ///<■ man, //"■ ira/mui, 

and the women ; but a different form of the article would he 

employed in French under these circumstances, 

We ma) observe here, that nouns iu English are said to he 
Qf three genders: the word ///<.// is said to he of the masculine 
gend< r, the word woman is said to he of the feminine gender, and 
the word treasure is said to he in the neuter or no gender: this 
is a natural division, hut somehow or other it does not happen 
to he a grammatical one. In French there is no such thing as a 
neuter gender; all the nouns of the language must either he mas- 
culine or feminine : the word fn'sor, for instance, U said to he 
masculine, and th ! word intention is said to be feminine. \s g 



CONSTRUCTION. 9 

different form of the article must be used in each of these cases 
it becomes a matter of some moment to know to which of the 
two genders any particular word may belong, we shall therefore 
give rules that will enable the learner to distinguish the gender 
of nouns when they become necessary. In the mean time the 
gender of the words in the lesson must be judged by the form of 
the article that exists before them; thus tresor will be recognised 
as masculine, since le stands before it. The learner then must 
take care always to render " the treasure" into French, by le 
tresor: it would be a blunder to write or pronounce la tresor. 
There is no difficulty about words in the plural, the same form 
of the article is always used before them; thus we say les 
intentions and les voyageurs, although, as we have seen, the 
former of these words is feminine, and the latter masculine. 

II. 

Un d'eux , . . . . . One of them. 

Dans /'intention .... In the intention. 

Qu'un de nous aille . . . Let one of us go. 
When the words le or la, the ; que, that ; or de, of, come before 
another word beginning with a vowel, the a of the one and 
the e's of the others are invariably cut off. This is done in 
order to avoid the too frequent recurrence of two vowels, these 
little words being very much used in French. The student 
therefore, in writing, must take care when he has the two 
words de and eux, for example, together, to cut off the e of the 
de, and be careful at the same time to supply its place with an 
apostrophe, as in the sentences given above. 

III. 

Qu'un de nous aille ) T . 
rr? > * ( Let one o- us ^o. 

that one ot us may go J b 

The above phrase occurring in our text, exhibits a very 
common mode of expression. The sentence " qu'un de nous 
aille" is incomplete; the words " il faut," it is necessary, being- 
understood. The phrase entire would be " il faut qu'un de 
nous aille," it is necessary that one of us go, or one of us must go. 
It is however the defective form of the phrase, the form which 



10 CONSTRUCTION. 

appears in our text, that is generally employed, and consequently 
that is the form the student ought to imitate when he has a 
similar expression to turn into French. Being imperfect, the 
phrase when translated literally into English does not exhibit 
the sense it is meant to convey. The best way to deal with 
such a phrase, is to consider it entire, without regarding in- 
dividually the words of which it is composed, and look upon it 
as equivalent to a certain other phrase in English ; deal with it 
in short, in the same manner as if it were a single word. We 
cannot approve of the manner adopted in a grammar of some 
note,* of explaining this difficulty by saying, that " que" 
supplies an ellipsis, and ergo, that que is equal to let; such a 
solution of the difficulty is likely to beget a notion in the mind 
of the learner that que, in French, has the signification of the 
English word let, whilst these two words have not, nor can they 
logically have, any meaning in common. 

A similar kind of construction to that under consideration 
occurs in the Latin language; we find frequently the Roman 
writers employing the subjunctive as an imperative, for instance 
in the well-known verse of Virgil — 

" ilia mtjacUt in aula 

/Folus, et clauso ventorum eareere rcf/net." 

« Qv? Bole te eontente de regnei sur ses rochers, et d'exercer 
son pouvoir dans ses sombres cachots." 

" Let JBcihu vaunt himself in his own hall, and let him reign 

in the closed prison of the winds." 

Here we have a similar construction in Latin to that of "qu'un 
de nous aillo" in French; but think of a " tyro" translating the 
Latin relative qui by let} We shall have occasion to revert 

to the Logic of the construction of "qu'un de nous aille" in ■ 

future lesson. In the mean time it will be Sufficient lor the 
guidance of the student to say, that when he has an English 
phrase to translate, beginning with let, implying a command, 
he must set out in French with the word que. Two or three 

phrases of this kind will be introduced into the exercise on 

composition, in order to habituate the learner to this mode of 

expression. 

• Grammar of Ihe French Lan juage, bj J. C. Ddflla. 



CONSTRUCTION. 11 



IV. 



Que trouverent les trois "j 

What found the three What did the three travellers 

voyage urs ? f find ? 

travellers ? J 

Que dirent-ils? ) ^r, . ,.,,, . 

What said they? } What Ad they say ? 

£™/ } Did they say? 

In English there are two ways of asking a question; with 
the auxiliary word did, or without it ; a question can either be 
put in the form, "did they say so and so," or " said they so 
and so." In French there is no such word as did, that can be 
made use of in this way, the French therefore cannot put a 
question in the first of these forms, and consequently are 
obliged to employ the second. In framing a question, the 
student must always bear in mind, that the word did has no 
equivalent in French — he must bear in mind that there are two 
manners of asking a question in English, one of which accords 
with the French idiom, and may be translated literally : but that 
the other cannot be rendered word for word into French. It 
will be observed that in English the word did is merely a sign 
of the past time, and may be dispensed with by using a past 
tense of the verb itself. In the phrase, " did the travellers 
find a treasure ;" and "found the travellers a treasure;" the 
words "did find" in the one, and the word "found" in the 
other, are precisely equivalent. 

Some English interrogative phrases containing the word 
did will be introduced into the exercises under the head of 
Composition. To translate these correctly into French, the 
learner must, as we have said, bear in mind that the question 
did he go ? can be put in a shape without the did, as went he? 
and that this last form of a question alone can be rendered 
literally into French. 



12 CONSTRUCTION. 



Les voyageurs trouverent-ils ^ 

The travellers found they Found the travellers a trea- 



? 



a treasure ? 



Les voyageurs dirent-ils, "\ 

The travellers said tfiey Said the travellers we have 



nous avons un tresor ?" ( a treasure ? 

we have a treasure' 



I 



Quand les voyageurs "| 

When tbe travellers When found the travellers 



trouverent-ils un tresor ? \ a treasure? 

found they a treasure 



J 



We have said last section, that the English have two ways 
of asking a question ; one with the word did, as "did three 
travellers find a treasure/' and another without this auxiliary, 
as "found three travellers a treasure." We also said that the 
first of these forms cannot be rendered into French, there bring 
no such auxiliary as did in the language, and consequently that 
the second of the two must always be translated. 

It is the pian ice also in French interrogations, to say 

" three travellers found they BO and so," " three travellers said 
they so and so:" instead of the English form " found three 
travellers BO and so," '-said three travellers so and so." These 
last phrases, indeed, were they translated literally, would not 

be French. 

It will be also observed by the sentences given above, that 
in ipi stions, the pronoun and the verb must be connected with 
a liii" drawn betwixt them. 

VI. 
On alla-t-il ? Where did he go . J 

When in a question the verb en. Is in ;, vowel followed 

by the pronoun ;7. be, the letter / is inserted between. 
This is done in order to prevent the hiatus in pronunciation 
caused by two vowels coming together. It may be asked why- 
is b / use. I for this purpose, iu pr any other eoiiso- 



PRONUNCIATION. 13 

nant, when an n, an m, or a b, would answer the purpose, so far 
as euphony is concerned, quite as well. In order to answer 
this question, we must trace the language back to its source. 
We find in Latin, the parent language, that all the third 
persons of verbs end in a t, and we know that in French the t 
is only wanted when a question is asked in the third person. 
The phrase alla-t-il, did he go, is in Latin, word for word, ibat 
Me; in the Latin word we have a t. And although the t has 
been dropped in the affirmative form of the phrase in French, it 
makes its appearance again when wanted. The t moreover is 
still retained in the third person singular of some verbs, as il 
dit, he said, il avait, he had; and in cases where it has been lost, 
it appears again when a question is asked, as if to remind us 
that the language of Ceesar is still the language of Gaul. 



PRONUNCIATION. 

NASAL N. 



When the letter n, preceded by any of the vowels, occurs 
before another consonant, it has what is termed a nasal sound, 
being partially enunciated through the nose. The existence 
of this sound in the pronunciation of French has given rise to 
a notion amongst the English, that the French are very much 
addicted to speaking through their noses; but nothing could be 
more erroneous; the truth of the matter is that, if this peculiarity 
abounds in any language more than another, it is in English 
that it predominates. In the English words, clung, flung, 
swung, rang, fang, sioang, there is a nasal sound, and a very 
decided one too, it only differs from the French in being more 
nasal! A Frenchman has the greatest possible difficulty in 
acquiring a correct pronunciation of the words we have named, 
for the unique reason that they are a great deal more nasal 
than his own. The French nasal sound is exceedingly nice, 
and must be enunciated with utmost softness; it possesses more 
the characteristics of a simple aspiration, than of the unequi- 
vocal nasal of the English ng. The prevailing vice of begin- 
ners in French lies in the pronunciation of the nasal n; they 



14 PRONUNCIATION. 

either for the most part sound it too harshly, or do not enun- 
ciate it at all; faults that it is the special object of these remarks 
to guard them against. 

It may also be observed that in English the nasal sound is 
variously modified, according to the vowel that precedes the ng; 
thus the ung of the word slung, and the ang of the word swung, 
are totally different in their inflection. We are led to mention 
this because beginners very generally make no distinction 
between the French sound of in and en, whilst in reality the 
difference between these two combinations is as marked as 
between their equivalents, ang and ing, in English. 

Keeping in view, that the difference between the English 
and French nasal sounds, is that the former partake more 
abundantly of the nasal character, and that the latter must be 
formed by a slight aspiration, the nasal sound being almost 
imperceptible, the following table will enable the learner to 
pronounce the nasal n in all cases correctly: 

an \ are pronounced like ang in the word clang, giving the a 
en J the Bound of that letter in the 

English word father. 

like eng or ang in the word anger, 
as that word is usually pro- 
nounced, that is, as if it were 
written eng-ger. 

tike ang in song. 

like ung in the word snug. 

When n is followed by another //, the nasal sound is lost; 
double n has the same sound as in English, but when it comes 
before any of the other consonants, it is always nasal* It will 
therefore be seen from the table we have- given, that the word 
"intention." in the lesson, should be pronounced as if written 
eng-tang-see-ong, the English nasal sounds of these letters 

being of course considerably modified. 

The student must bear in mind that // is only nasal when 
followed by a consonant; when followed by a vowel. // has the 
same sound as in English. 

These same remarks apply also to the letter ///; the pronun- 
ciation of this letter resembles in every particular that of //. 



Ill 


is |>r 


onoi 


on 




» 


un 




„ 



15 



COMPOSITION. 

The text of our present lesson, though it be short, illustrates 
a great many points in the structure of the French language. 
We have noticed a few of these under the head Construction, 
and have exhibited the others by a comparison of the English 
and the French sentences that occur in the passage under 
the head Phrases. The student may now put the know- 
ledge the text has opened to him into practice, by a little 
exercise in composition. We give a few phrases and sentences 
in English to be rendered into French. In order to translate 
these, the French words that have already appeared in the 
lesson alone are necessary ; all that the student has to do, in 
order to go through this exercise correctly, is to bear in mind 
the structure of the sentences contained in the text. We 
shall give a translation of these phrases in the next lesson, 
so that the learner may verify the accuracy of his version. 

They said, " we have a trea- 
sure." 

They said, " we are hungry." 

They said, " we have where- 
withal to make a repast." 

They found something to eat. 

They found the road. 

We have the treasure. 

We have ajneal. 

We are hungry. 

One of us. 

They said to us, " we are 
hungry." 

They found us in the way. 

We have their treasure. 

They found their treasure. 

They found their way. 

They told them to bring the 
treasure. 

They told them to buy some- 
thing to eat. 

They said to them, " we are 
hungry." 



We have. 

We have a treasure. 

We have the wherewith. 

We have wherewithal to make 
a repast. 

We have the wherewith to 
buy some meat. 

Have we ? 

Have we anything to eat ? 

Have we wherewithal to buy 
a repast? 

Have we anything to do? 

Are we hungry ? 

What have we ? 

Have we a meal? 

Let one of us go. 

Let one of them go. 

Let him go and buy where- 
withal to make a repast. 

Let one of us go and make a 
repast. 

Let the traveller go. 



16 



COMPOSITION. 



He went to buy them where- 
withal to make a repast. 
He went to make them a road. 



Did tin 



y sa y 



Did they say, "we have whore- 
withal to make a repast?" 
Did they say, " let one of us 

go?" ' 

Did they find their road? 
Did they find a treasure? 
Did they find wherewithal to 

make a repast ? 
Did he go ? 
Did be depart ? 
He departed. 

When did he depart '.' 

Why did he depart? 



Who departed ? 

They found a treasure. 

When did they find a trea- 
sure ? 

Why did they find a treasure? 

Where did they find a trea- 
sure ? 

Where did they find us? 

They said, " we are hungry." 

Did they say, " we are 
hungry ?" 

Who saiil we are hungry? 

He went. 

Did he go? 

Who went? 

When diil he go? 

Why did he go? 



All these phrases the student will be aide to render cor- 
rectly into French, if he has paid attention to the construction 
of the text, and our observations upon it. This exercise will 
not on a an introduction to writing French, but will 

tend also to impress the structure and idiomatica! peculiarities 
of the sentences it contains on his memory, and thus a basis 

will be formed whereon the structure of the language may 
rest. The student will now have read, spoken, and written a 
little French, and thus will have obtained a more extended 

noti.m of the language than if he had Keen turning over the 

of a grammars with a master, for a twelvemonth. Each 
bqcc ssive lesson will strengthen and augment the knowledge 

of the language the learner may now l>e supposed to have 
attained. 



THE FRENCH LANGUAGE. 



LESSON SECOND. 



READING. 

REPETITION. 

The following exercise in reading consists of a translation 
of the exercises given in the last lesson under the head Com- 
position, as an exercise in writing French. The pronunciation 
and meaning of the words have already been given, so that 
the learner should be able to read and translate what follows 
without hesitation. 

Nous avons. Nous avons un tresor. Nous avons 
de quoi. Nous avons de quoi faire un repas. Nous 
avons de quoi acheter de la viande. Avons-nous? 
Avons-nous de quoi manger ? Avons-nous de quoi 
acheter pour un repas ? Avons-nous de quoi faire ? 
Avons-nous faim ? Qu'avons-nous 1 Avons-nous 
un repas ? Qu'un de nous aille. Qu'un d'eux aille. 
Qu'il aille acheter de quoi faire un repas. Qu'un 
de nous aille faire un repas. Que le voyageur 
aille. lis dirent nous avons un tresor. lis dirent 
" nous avons faim." lis dirent "nous avons de 



18 HEADING. 

quoi faire an repas.''' lis trouverent de quoi 
manger. lis trouverent le chemin. Nous avons 
le tresor. Nous avons un repas. Nous avons 
faim. Un de nous. lis nous dirent "nous avons 
faim." lis nous trouverent dans le chemin. Nous 
avons leur tresor. lis trouverent leur tresor. lis 
trouverent leur chemin. lis leur dirent d'apporter 
le tresor. lis leur dirent d'acheter de quoi manger, 
lis leur dirent " nous avons faim." II alia leur | 
acheter de quoi faire un repas. II alia leur faire 
un ohemin. Dircnt-ils ? Dirent-ils lt nous avons 
de qooi faire un repas?" Dirent-ils " qu'un de 
nousaille?" Trouverent-ils leur chemin? Trou- 
verent-ils un tresor? Trouverent-ils de quoi fttire 
mi repas 1 Alla-t-il? St: dctaeha-t-il? II se 
datacha. Quand se detaeha*t-il? Pourquoi se 
dt'tacha-t il ! Qui 96 d£tacha ? lis trouverent un 
Quand trouverent-ils u\\ tresor? Pourquoi 
trourerent-ila un tresor? Ou trouverent-ils un 
tresor ? Ou nous trouverent-ils ! lis dirent " nous 
avons faim.' Dirent-ils " nous avons faim?" Qui 
(lit "nous avons faim?" II alia. Alla-t-il ? Qui 
alia? Quand alla-t-il ( Pourquoi ;illa-t-il \ 



1U 



CONTINUATION OF TEXT. 

Mais chemin faisant, il dit en lui-meme, il faut que 
j'empoisonne la viande, afin que mes deux camarades 
raeurent en la mangeant, et que je jouisse du tremor 
moi seul. II ex^cuta son dessein, et mit du poison 
dans ce qu'il avait apport6 a. manger 



In order that the learner may read, translate, and understand 
the above, we shall, as in the case of the text given in the 
previous lesson, proceed to give first the pronunciation of the 
words, as also their euphonic connexion, and then their signi- 
fication. 

Mais chemin faisant, il dit en lui-meme, ii 

May she-mire fe-zare, eel dee-t w en Itiee* maim, eel 

faut que j'empoisonne la viande, afin que mes deux 

fo ki w sh ere-pwa-zon la vee-ared afire w ki mai day 

camarades meurent en la mangeant, et que je 

ka-ma-rad mair-t w en la mare-share, ai ki w j 



jouisse 


du 


tresor 


moi 


seul. 


11 


executa 


son 


shoo-ees 


dfi 


trai-zor 


mwa 


sail. 


Eel 


exe-kii-ta 


son 



dessein, et mit du poison dans ce qu'il avait apporte 

d-sin, ai mee dtt pwa-so» daw ^_, s keel av-ai-t w ap-por-tai 

a manger, 
a mare-shay. 

In order to read the above correctly the learner must bear 
in mind what we said in the last lesson, under the head 
Pronunciation, about the nasal sound. We continue to 
mark the n with its accompanying vowel, when it is nasal, in 
italics, so that this most important matter may not be neglected. 

* For the pronunciation of the letter u, where we have marked it with an 
accent thus (&), we refer the student to the head Pronunciation, page 29, 
of the present lesson 

c2 



20 VOCABULARY. 

We cannot too strongly impress upon the learner the necessity 
of his attention to the pronunciation we have given of the 
words in the text, and their euphonic connexion. The 
same words will be repeated over and over again in the 
exercises that are to follow, so that on the amount of attention 
paid at the outset will depend the learner's accuracy through- 
out the lesson. 



TRANSLATION. 

Mais chemin faisant il dit en lui-me'me, 

But road making (going along) he said in himself, 

il faut que j'empoisonne la viande afin 

it is necessary that I may poison the meat to end 

in order 

que mes deux camarades meurent en la mangeant, 

that my two companions may die in it eating, 

et que je jouisse du tresor moi seul. II 

and that I may enjoy of the treasure me alone. He 

executa son dessein, et mit du poison dans 

executed his ,n, and put of the poison in 

ce qu'il avait apporte a manger, 

what lie had hrought to to cat. 

The student can now read and pronounce the new portion 
of text; the next tiling is to turn the words acquired to ;t 
practical account. 



VOCABULARY. 

We again range the words of the text opposite their English 
equivalents, in order that the learner may test his knowledge 
of them before entering upon the more essential exercises of 
the lesson. 

Mais but 

chemin .... road 

faisant .... making 

11 i!r 



lit said 



2! 



VH RASES. 

en in 

lui-meme . . . himself 

faut is necessary 

que » that 

J e • l . 

empoisonne . . . poison 

la the 

viande .... meat 

afin in order 

mes my 

deux two 

camarades . . . companions 
meurent .... may die 
mangeant . . . eating 

et and 

jouisse .... may enjoy 

du of the 

tresor treasure 

moi me 

seul alone 

executa .... executed 

son his 

dessein .... design 

mit put 

du of the 

poison poison 

dans into 

ce que .... what 

avait had 

apporte .... brought 

a to 

manger . . . . to eat 



PHRASES. 

The value of each word being known, the meanings of the 
sentences have next to be observed. As we have had occasion 
to remark under this head in the preceding lesson, it sometimes 
happens that combinations of words have acquired a meaning 
they do not exhibit when translated singly; thus chemin 
faisant is, when translated into English, word for word, road 
making; but the two words together are in French employed 
to signify going along> just as the phrases making way and 



'1*2 CONVERSATION. 

going a-head are employed in English occasionally to express 
a similar notion. In considering- the phrases therefore, the 
power of the words collectively must be regarded more than 
their individual meaning. 

Mais But 

Chemin faisant Going along 

II dit en lui-meme .... He said to himself 

II faut que j'empoisonne la I must poison the meat 
viande. 

Afin que In order that 

Mes deux camarades meurent My two companions may die 

En la mangeant In eating it 

Et que And that 

Je jouisse moi seul du tresor . I alone may enjoy the treasure 

II execute son dessein . . . He executed his design 

Et mit du poison .... And put poison 

Dans ce que In what 

II avait apporte a manger . He had brought to eat. 



CONVERSATION. 

As in the preceding lesson, we shall now proceed to a con- 
versation on the subject involved in the text of the present 
lesson. It will be necessary for the student to bear in mind 
the words given as an introduction to the previous colloquial 
exercise, in addition to which the following will have to be 
acquired : 

f £ iv i n & t,,e a ' s t,,e 
Madame, Mudtim, pronounced Mmuam sound they have 

[ in the word part. 

Cela, that, ,, sla 

giving the de the 

Des, „/7/,,, „ ie sound those letters 

+ nave in the hng- 

l lish word debt. 

w„ K ;,, i like se in the English 

I word sait. 



CONVERSATION. 



23 



Que dit un des voyageurs? 

A qui dit-il cela ? . . . . 

Quand? 

Qui dit, il faut que j'empoi- 
sonne la viande? 

Quand dit-il cela? .... 

Pourquoi faut-il que le voya- 
geur empoisonne la viande? 

Le voyageur dit-il, il faut que 
j 'empoisonne mes cama- 
rades? 

Dit-il, il faut que je jouisse 
du tresor moi seul? 

Avait-il trois camarades? . . 

Avait-il deux camarades? . . 

Qui avait deux camarades? . 

Pourquoi faut-il que ses ca- 
marades meurent? 

Qu'avait-il apporte a manger? 

Avait-il apporte de la viande ? 

Avait-il le tresor? .... 

Qui avait le tresor? . . . 

Qu'avait un des trois voya- 
geurs? 

Executa-t-il son dessein? . 

Qu'executa un des trois voya- 
geurs? 

Avait-il apporte de quoi 
manger? 

Avait-il apporte le tresor? 

Dans quoi un des trois voya- 
geurs mit-il du poison? . 

Avait-il apporte" de la viande? 

Mit-il du poison dans la 
viande qu'il avait apportee 
a manger? 

Pourquoi? 



Quand mit-il du poison dans 
ce qu'il avait apporte a 
manger? 



II faut que j'empoisonne la 

viande. 
A Iui-meme. 
Chemin faisant. 
Un des trois voyageurs. 

Chemin faisant. 
Afin que ses deux camarades 
meurent en la mangeant. 
Non, Madame. 



Oui, Madame. 

Non, Madame. 

Qui, Madame. 

Un des trois voyageurs. 

Afin qu'il jouisse seul du 

tresor. 
De la viande. 
Oui, Madame. 
Non, Madame. 
Ses deux camarades. 
Un dessein. 

Oui, Madame. 

II executa son dessein. 

Oui, Madame. 

Non, Madame. 

Dans ce qu'il avait apporte a 

manger. 
Oui, Madame. 
Oui, Madame. 



Afin que ses deux camarades 
mourussent en la man- 
geant, et qu'il jouisse seul 
du tresor. 

Chemin faisant. 



24 



CONSTRUCTION. 

Under this head we shall continue to bring into view the 
points of the text that illustrate the general structure of the 
language. These remarks, as we stated in last lesson, are 
intended to guide and facilitate the learner in writing French. 

VII. 

II faut ^Me/empoisoiine la I must poison the meat, 

viande. 

In our progress we shall occasionally fall in with a French 
word that has no corresponding word in the English language, 
and sometimes we shall in the same way have to deal with an 
English word that cannot be rendered into French by any 
single word of that language, this is the case with the English 
word must in the sentence before us. There is no single word 
in French that is precisely equivalent to the English must: and 
as this word must is very much employed in English, it be- 
comes to the learner a matter of some importance to know 
how a sentence in which must occurs, may be rendered cor- 
rectly into French — a difficulty that our text by chance amply 
illustrates. We find in the sentence quoted above, that I must 
is represented in the French sentence by il faut que jc, and it 
is by these four words arranged as we sec them, that / must is 
most usually rendered in French. 

The essential word of the equivalent for the English I must, 
\a faut, and it will be seen from the translation of the text, that 
this word faut is equivalent to the two English words is MM* 
sari/; so that the French phrase il faut que je, conveying the 

idea of / must, is literally in English, U u necessary that I. 

The learner, therefore, in order to render J must in French, 
has to translate literally the phrase it is necessary that I; 
bearing in mind that the single word//?// is equivalent to the 
two English words is necessary. In the same way when you 
must, In- must, W» must, or they must, have to be rendered 
into French, a similar process is to be gone through, suhsti- 
tuting for the jc the pronoona equivalent to you, he, we, and 
they; thus in order to say, hi mutt poison the meat, the phrase, 



CONSTRUCTION. $5 

it is necessary that he may poison the meat will have to be taken 
and translated literally; the result will be, ilfaut qu'i/.empoisonne 
la mande, and so in all similar cases. We shall introduce 
some phrases of this kind into the exercise on Composition 
which we shall expect the learner, aided by the foregoing 
remarks, to render correctly into French. 

It will no doubt occur to the observing- student, that « it is 
necessary that he may poison the meat," is rather a clumsy 
way of saying -he must poison the meat," and most certainly 
such is the case. The French are as sensible of this defect in 
their language as an Englishman can be, and in order to 
remedy the evil, the words "51 faut" are occasionlly omitted 
m such phrases, the other part of the sentence being made to 
answer the purpose. An instance of this kind of abbreviation 
occurred in the text of our last lesson, where we have the 
phrase "one of us must go" rendered by "qu'un de nous 
aille; the words «il faut" it is necessary, being entirely sup- 
pressed. We stated in speaking of this sentence, section III 
of our last lesson, that the words f'il faut" were frequently 
omitted in such expressions, and the fact of the contracted form 
being found m our text may be cited as a proof that the abbre- 
viated form of such sentences is employed by the best writers 
in the language. We would suggest the learner to refer back 
to our previous observations on this construction, before reading 
the next section. 8 

VIII. 

P ° U Tur S qUG Ie VOya " WI ^ must tfae teller poison 
Sade"? ^ ^ ^ hi§ —Prions ? P 

The above phrase, occurring in the exercise on Conversa- 
tion exhibits to us the manner of dealing with the English 
^ when the word occurs in an interrogation. Transited 
literally the phrase in question appears as follows: 
Pourquoi faut-il que , e vo empoisonne ses 

camaradesr 160688 ^" ^ ** ^ ***** * 
companions ? 



26 CONSTRUCTION. 

Here it will be observed that faut-il literally signifies " is 
it necessary," just as we have seen the literal equivalent for 
ilfaut is " it is necessary/' 

It is possible and usual to omit the words il faut in ex- 
pressing a command ; but when a question is asked, the case 
is altered, for in an interrogation ilfaut is not so easily dis- 
posed of. It is perfectly good French to say " qu'un de nous 
aille," instead of " il faut qu'un de nous aille;" but it is quite 
impossible to ask a question with such an assemblage of words 
as "qu'un de nous aille." In order to say "must one of us go." 
the faut-il cannot be dispensed with, the phrase entire is re- 
quired, and must be written " faut-il qu'un de nous aille;" in 
Mich a ease ilfaut becomes an indispensable adjunct. 

In the previous section we have noticed the exceedingly clumsy 
substitute that exists in tin- French language for the English 
word must, and we have static! that the means adopted to remedy 
the evil is by omitting the words ilfaut, but we have seen that 
il faut cannot always be B6 dispensed with, and is absolutely 
accessary in an interrogation. In order to say in French 
" must \\ e i at ': " the phrase ,v i^ it necessary that we may eat" 
would bave to 1>.' employed; decidedly too long and round 
about to answer the purpose; brevity is the soul of social 
converse, and in tin- intercourse of eoinmon life long heavy 
locations like this arc totally inadmissible. The expedient 

adapted to abridge such expressions i> to suppress the pronoun 
and tin- que, employing onl) the indispensable faut-il with the 
simple form of the verb; thus instead of saying "faut-il que 
nous mangions," trout we eat, the following construction is 
usually employed : 

Faut-il manger ? .... Must we eat? 

It will be observed that this phrase faut-il manger f implies 

nothing more than, u it necessary to eat? and consequently may 

Ne employed to express, t? or mutt you eat fas well as 

must we eatf When however a question of this kind is to be 

put in the third person, no abbreviation is practicable; thus, 
must hi go? must they die? will have t«» be rendered in 1 
jnut il uu'il aille? faut-il qu*il» meurent? We shall introduce 



CONSTRUCTION. 27 

into the exercise on Composition, some English interrogative 
phrases containing the word must, to be rendered into French, 
in order that the learner may be habituated to this kind of 
construction. 

IX. 

Le tresor The treasure. 

La viande The meat. 

In the first section of the remarks, under the head Con- 
struction, we have stated that all words in the French 
language are either masculine or feminine, and also that 
the is rendered by le before masculine words, and by la before 
feminine words. The learner must bear in mind, when he has 
to render the English article the into French, that he cannot use 
the words la or le indiscriminately ; it very often happens that 
a word in French has one meaning when le is before it, and 
another when la is before it: thus le manche is in English, the 
broomstick, and la manche is the English Channel. Now if an 
Englishman were to say, speaking of having been to France, 
"I went across le manche," instead of saying la manche, a 
Frenchman would naturally suppose him to mean that he went 
to France on a broomstick ! this would be an awkward mistake 
for an elderly lady tomake. 

X. 

En la mangeant .... In eating it. 

The learner, from what we have said in the last and previous 
sections, will now know how to proceed when he has the word 
the to render into French ; we have said that the is to be trans- 
lated in the following manner: — 

Before a noun in the masculine gender by le. 

Before a noun in the feminine gender by la. 

Before a noun in the plural number by les. 
But it must not be supposed from this, that the words, le, la, 
and les always signify in French the; it is true that the is 
rendered in French by le, la, les, but it is not true that le, la, 
and les, are always to be rendered in English by the, as we see 



28 CONSTRUCTION. 

by the sentence quoted above, from the text, where the word la 
has the signification of the English word it. 

When the words le, la, and les occur before a noun, they 
are equivalent to the English article the; but when they occur 
before a verb, they are no longer articles but pronouns, and will 
have to be translated into English in the following manner: 

le before a verb by him or it. 
la before a verb by her or it. 
les before a verb by than. 

In the sentence before us the word mangeant is a verb, and 
consequently the la before it must be rendered into English 
by the word it, since it refers to the word meat. 

This diversity of the meaning in the words le, la, and les, 
arising from their position in a sentence, requires to be parti- 
cularly noted ; as otherwise it is likely to cause a great deal 
of trouble to the beginner, and is apt even to mislead persons 
who have attained some proficiency in the language. 

Prop, rlv speaking the words le and la mean simply him and 
her, because every thing in French being cither masculine or 
feminine, the word it has no existence in the language. In the 
phrase given above, in speaking of the meat, the French say 
in eating her, and not eating it. Just as the English say in 

speaking of a steam-boat, "she sails well;" so the French him 

or Acr all objects whatever. The met that all objects in nature 
arc considered masculine or feminine may very likely give rise 
tn this question in the mind of the learner: Why is it that there 

are only two genders in French? In answering this question 
we may observe thai must persons who have written French 
Grammars, assert that it is impossible to teach theoretically the 
pronunciation of the language; this may be perfectly true, so 

far as they are individually concerned, but instead of ascribing 
the impossibility to their own incompetency, they usually ascribe 

n to soin. impenetrable difficulty in the subject itself. In the 

same w.iv when such a point is to be resolved as the question 

before us, we have nothing but mystery ami perplexity. 

A vt rv slight knowledge of the history of the language is 
Sufficient to account for the use in French of two genders only. 



PRONUNCIATION. 29 

When the Franks overran Gaul, the inhabitants spoke Latin, 
and in order to understand the people they had conquered they 
were obliged to learn their language; but, as may be readily 
supposed, the conquerors did not trouble themselves much 
about the niceties of the Latin terminations and the distinct 
tions of gender depending upon them, they were content with 
being able to make themselves understood, and beyond what 
was necessary to effect this, disregarded the subtilties of the 
Latin syntax; they were obliged, however, to make a distinc- 
tion between male and female, and gradually embraced under 
these two heads, all the words that had hitherto been considered 
as of the neuter gender; thus it is simply from the circum- 
stance of the Franks being more a warlike, than a learned 
people, that two genders only exist in the language. 

In rendering the English word it into French, the learner 
must observe whether it relates to a masculine or a feminine 
noun; for instance, if in the phrase, "they found it," the word 
it refers to the treasure, the phrase wiH have to be rendered in 
French— 

lis le trouverent. 
But if the word it refers to the meat, the phrase must be- 
lls la trouverent. 
It will be remembered that these pronouns are placed before, 
and not as in English, after the verb. 



PRONUNCIATION. 

THE CHARACTERISTIC. 

There exists in nearly all the modern languages some par- 
ticular sound that is rarely, if at all, made use of in English- 
these sounds may be considered by the English as characteristic 
of the languages to which they belong. Viewing in this way 
the French sounds as they stand in relation to those of the 
English language, the sound of the vowel u may be called the 
French characteristic. 

The nearest approximation to the French sound of the vowel 
u, made use of in English, with which we are acquainted, occurs 



30 PRONUNCIATION. 

in the word doing, when that word is quickly pronounced, as it 
usually is, especially when used with other words in a sentence; 
in such a case the sound of the o in the word, blending with 
the i of the termination ing, produces exactly the sound given 
by the French to the vowel u. If then the learner pronounces 
rapidly the word doing two or three times over, and stops short 
at doi, he will pronounce the French word du almost as accu- 
rately as a native of Paris. He must bear in mind, however, 
that the sound of the o in do is not the French sound of u. It 
is only when the o of that word is blended with the i that 
follows it in the word doing that it resembles the French u. 

In English the vowel u has three sounds; that in tube, another 
in tii//, and a third in such words as )-ude. In French the vowel 
// has only one sound, which must always be given to it, 
except when it is associated with another vowel: there are 
three words in the lesBon in which this letter stands alone; 
these are the words <///, ////, and earecttta. The learner has been 
shewn how to produce <hu and lie must now endeavour to 
transfer the Bound of the // in this word to those in the other 
two. By observing carefully the sound between the d and the 
no of the word doing, when quickly pronounced, the learner 
may form such a conception «•!" the sound as will enable him 
to pronounce the French // in all cases correctly. We may 
repeal that he must carefully avoid the sound of the o in the 
word <In, that being tin- wund given to tin- French u by persons 
who, having studied tin 1 language andera master, have been led 

to rely more upon their ear, than upon their comprehension. 

We are satisfied that, with a little attention to the directions 
we have given, the pronunciation of the u may be accurately 
acquired. At all events, such a pronunciation of the tetter 
may be obtained as will approach much nearer its exact 
BOUnd than that given to it by the natives of some of the 
provinces of France itself. We have heard a well-ed U 

native of Somersetshire, pronounce the English word much, as 

if it were written "mooch." In Lancashire, the word is pro- 

nounced as if written" meech."* In Killarney, the word would 

think, pronounced as if written "mitch." In the same 
• Conversation! in Lane D ct by Tim Bobbin. 



COMPOSITION. 31 

way, natives of France, vary in their inflection of the letter u; 
and an Englishman pronouncing the u, according to the con- 
ception of the sound he may form from the illustration we have 
given of it, will approach infinitely nearer the sound a Parisian 
gives the letter than a native of Burgundy, Gascony, or indeed 
of any other province in France remote from the capital. 



COMPOSITION. 

Translating from English into French is a valuable auxiliary 
in the study of the language, especially when the subjects given 
for translation are within the grasp of the learner, and are 
useful in themselves ; qualities which we think the phrases we 
have selected will be found to possess. An exercise of this 
kind will bring the peculiarities of structure more distinctly to 
view, and aid in impressing them upon the mind. Our text 
has enabled us to illustrate some of the leading features of the 
language, with which the student will be greatly benefited by 
being familiar. No better means of effecting this can be 
devised, than by translating their English equivalents into 
French. The learner ought not therefore to neglect this 
exercise. We shall give in the next lesson a translation in 
French of the following phrases, so that the learner may see 
whether he has himself rendered them correctly or not. 

I must poison the meat. \Mustoneof the three travellers 
I must poison my companions. poison his companions? 

I must enjoy the treasure. Must the travellers die? 

My companions must die. Must my two companions die ? 

My two companions must die. Must one of the travellers 
He must enjoy the treasure poison the meat? 

alone. Must his two companions die ? 

The travellers must die. We must eat. 

They must die. The meat must be eaten. 

He must poison the meat. We must eat the treasure. 

He must poison the travellers. The travellers must be eaten. 

He must poison one of his The poison must be taken. 

companions. Poison must be bought. 

Must the traveller poison the Meat must be bought. 

meat ? We must buy something to eat. 



G 



32 COMPOSITION, 

Must we eat ? 

Must we eat the meat ? 

Must the treasure be eaten ? 

Must we eat the travellers ? 

Must we eat the poison ? 

Must I eat my companions? 

Must poison be bought ? 

Must meat be bought? 

Must we buy something to eat ? 

I must poison the meat, in 
order that my two com- 
panions may die when 
they eat it. 

I must poison it. 

I must poison them. 

He put it in the meat. (The 
poison.) 

He put it in the poison. (The 
meat.) 

He said it. 

It must be taken. (The poi- 
son.) 

It must be eaten. (The Beat.) 

We must eat them. 

Must I poison itt 

Must I poison them ! 

Did he put it in the meat? 
Did be say it f 

Mu^t it be oaten ? (The moat.) 
Must it l>o taken ? (The poi- 

ion. | 
Must are eat them f 
Must it be bought ? 
He executed his design. 
Who executed a design ? 
Where did be execute liis 

design I 
When did ho execute it F 
( roing along, one of the three 
travellers said, " I must 

When the learner has rendered these phrases, he will have 

become familiar with some of the chief difficulties he has to 

encounter. In the next lesson we shall have to speak of some 
other leading features in the construction of the langu l 



poison my two compa- 
nions." 
oing along, a traveller put 
poison in the meat, and 
said, " my two compa- 
nions must die on eating 
it." 

Two travellers on their jour- 
ney found some meat on 
the road, and said, Gen- 
tlemen (Messieurs), we 
must eat it. 

He must eat his companions. 

Why must he eat his com- 
panions ? 

When must he eat his com- 
panions? 

A gentleman (tin Monsieur) 
put meat in the poison. 

What did he put in the 
poison ? 

Why did he put meat in the 
poison ? 

When did he put it in ? 

I must poison tin- lady 
(Madame). 

When must I poison the lady ? 

Why must I poison her? 

Who must I poison ? 

We must eat some meat. 

Must we oat the meat ? 

Why must we eat it? 

When must we eat it? 

Must my two companions die ? 

The three travellers must die. 

Why must they die ? 

When must they die ? 

They must die on eating the 
meat that one of them 
bought to make a repast. 



THE FRENCH LANGUAGE. 



LESSON THIRD. 



READING. 

REPETITION. 

Il faut que j'empoisonne la viande. II faut que 
j'empoisonne mes camarades. II faut que je jouisse 
du tresor. II faut que mes camarades meurent. II 
faut que mes deux camarades meurent. II faut qu'il 
jouisse seul du tresor. II faut que les voyageurs 
meureut. II faut qu'ils meurent. II faut qu'il 
empoisonne la viande. II faut qu'il empoisonne les 
voyageurs. II faut qu'il empoisonne un de ses cama- 
rades. Faut-il que le voyageur empoisonne la viande? 
Faut-il qu'un des trois voyageurs empoisonne ses 
camarades? Faut-il que les voyageurs meurent? Faut- 
il que mes deux camarades meurent? Faut-il qu'un 
des voyageurs empoisonne la viande ? Faut-il que 
ses deux camarades meurent? 11 faut manger. II 
faut manger la viande. II faut manger le tresor. 
II faut manger les voyageurs. II faut manger le 
poison. II faut acheter du poison. II faut acheter 
de la viande. II faut acheter de quoi manger. # Faut- 
il manger? Faut-il manger la viande? Faut-il 
manger le tresor? Faut-il manger les voyageurs? 
Faut-il manger le poison ? Faut-il manger mes 
camarades? Faut-il acheter du poison? Faut-il 
acheter de la viande ? Faut-il acheter de quoi faire 
un repas ? 



34 READING. 

II faut que j'empoisonne la viande afin que mes 
deux camarades meureut en la mangeant. II faut 
que je rempoisonne. II faut que je les empoisonne." 
II le mit dans la viande. II la mit dans le poison. 
II le dit. II faut le manger. II faut la manger. 
II faut les manger. Faut-il que je l'empoisonne? 
Faut-il que je les empoisonne? Le rait-il dans la 
viande ? Le dit-il ? Faut-il la manger ? Faut-il le 
manger? Faut-il les manger? Faut-il Tacheter? 
11 executa son dessein. Qui executa uu dessein? 
Ou l'executa-t-il ? Quand Pexecuta-t-il ? Chemin 
faisant un dcs trois voyageurs dit, il faut que j'em- 
poisonne mes deux camarades. Chemin faisant un 
voyageur mit du poison dans la viande, et dit, il faut 
que mes deux camarades nieurent en la mangeant. 
Chemin faisant deux voyageurs trouvcrent de la 
viande dans leur chemin et dirent, Messieurs, il faut 
la manger. II faut manger sea camarades. Pour- 
quoi faut-il manger ses camarades? Quand faut il 
manger ses camarades ? Un Monsieur mit de la 
viande dans le poison. Que mit-il dans le poison? 
Pourquoi mit il de la viande dans le poison I Quand 
la mit-il ? II faut que j'empoisonne Madame. Quand 

faut-il que j'empoisonne Madame 1 Pourquoi faut-il 

que je rempoisonne? Qui faut-il que j'empoisonne ! 
II faut manger de la viande? Faut-il manger la 
viande!' Pourquoi faut-il la manger? Quand faut- 
il la manger? Faut-il que mes deux camarades 

meurenl I 11 faut que les trois voyageurs meurent? 
Pourquoi faut-il qu'ils meurent ? Quand faut-il qu'ils 
meurent? II faut qu'ils meurenl en mangeant la 
viande qu'ttU d'eux a apportee pour lairo un repas. 



35 
READING. 

CONTINUATION OF TEXT. 

Mais les deux autres qui avaient concu un sem- 
blable dessein contre lui pendant son absence, l'assas- 
sinerent a son retour, et demeurerent les maitres du 
tresor. Apres l'avoir tiie" ils mangerent de la viande 
empoisonnee et moururent aussi tous deux. 

In order that the learner may be able to read and pronounce 
the above, we shall have, as in the case of the two preceding 
sections of the text, to give first the pronunciation of the words, 
and then their meaning. 

Mais les deux autres qui avaient concu un 
Mai le* dai-z w o-ter kee av-ai kore-sii mi 

semblable dessein contre lui pendant son absence, 

son -bla-bel w d-sin core-ter lii-ee ^en-dan so-n w ab-sens, 

l'assassinerent a son retoirr, et demeurerent les maitres 
la-sa-see-ner-t w a sore re-toor, ai w d-mair-rer le mai-ter 

du tresor. Apres l'avoir tue ils mangerent de la 
dii trai-zor. A-pre lav-war tu6 eel mare-shair w d la 

viande empoisonnee et moururent aussi tous deux. 
vee-ared en-pwa-zon ng ai moor-iir-t w o-see too dai. 

In reading the above the learner must bear in mind what 
we have said of the nasal sound in the first lesson, and what 
we have said of the vowel u in the second. We continue to 
represent the nasal sound by italics, and to place a short accent 
over the u when that letter has its pure sound. The nasal and 
the sound of the u are two very important features in French 
pronunciation, and habitual attention to what we have said of 
them will do more to perfect the learner in pronunciation than 
a twelvemonth with a master. 

* For the sound of the e we have accented thus e and thus e, see the 
article Pronunciation, page 44. 

d2 



36 



avaient conc.u un 
had conceived a 



TRANSLATION. 

Mais les deux autres qui 
But the two others who 

semblable dessein contre lui pendant son absence, 
similar design against him during his absence, 

l'assassinerent a son retour, et demeurerent les maitres 
him assassinated at his return, and remained the masters 

du tresor. Apres l'avoir tue ils mangercnt de la 

of the treasure. After him to have killed they ate of the 

viande empoisonnee, et moururent aussi tous deux. 
meat poisoned, and died also all two (both). 



VOCABULARY. 

The text of the present lesson consists of forty words, twenty 
of which have already appeared in the preceding sections, we 
shall therefore limit the vocabulary to the twenty new words, 
as the learner may be supposed to have got the others pretty 
well fixed on his memory already. 



A nt res 
avaient 

concn . 

semblable 
contre . 
lui . . . 
pendant . 
absence 
assassiuerent 
retour 

demeurdrent 



maitres 
apres . . 
avoir . . 
tue 

mangerent 
empoisonnee 

moururent 
aussi . . . 
tous 



others 

had 

conceived 

similar 

against 

him 

during 

absence 
assassinated 

return 
(remained 
| lived 

masters 

after 

to have 

killed 

ate 
poisoned 

died 

also 

all. 



CONVERSATION. 37 

Of these twenty words, the greater part are mere modifica- 
tions of those already seen : avaient, had, is the plural form of 
avait in the text of the preceding lesson ; mangtrent, ate, is 
formed from the same root as manger, to eat; moururent, died, 
is from the same root as meurent, die. The principle operating 
these changes in the form of a verb will soon have to engage 
the learner's attention. 

PHRASES. 

Mais les deux autres . . . But the two others 

Qui avaient congu un sem- Who had conceived a similar 

blable dessein contre lui design against him 

Pendant son absence . . . During his absence 

L'assassinerent Assassinated him 

A son retour On his return 

Et demeurerent les maitres And remained masters of the 

du tresor treasure. 

Apres l'avoir tue .... After having killed him, 

lis mangerent de la viande They ate some of the poisoned 

empoisonnee, meat, 

Et moururent aussi tous deux. And they also both died. 

In comparing these sentences, the learner will observe that 
the English say poisoned meat, and that the French reverse the 
English order of these two words, and say meat poisoned. It 
will also be observed, that the equivalents of the English words 
a// and two are used in French to signify both; the reason of 
this is that there is no single word equivalent to both in the 
French language. 

CONVERSATION. 

All the words introduced into the following exercise have 
already appeared, either in the text of the present, or in the 
conversation of the preceding lessons. Their meaning and 
pronunciation have consequently been already given. 

Qu'avaient concu les deux Un semblable dessein. 

autres voyageurs? 
Qui avait conqu un semblable. Les deux autres voyageurs. 

dessein ? 



38 



CONVERSATION. 



Quand ? 



Ou? 

Contre qui les deux autres 
voyageurs avaient-ilsconcu 
un dessein? 

Qui avait le tresor? . . . 

Quand avaient-ils le tresor? . 

Qu'avaient les deux autres voy- 
ageurs pendant l'absence 
de leur camarade ? 

Qui les deux voyageurs assas- 
sinerent-ils? 

On l'assassinerent-ils? . . 

Quand l'assassinerent-ils ? 

Pourquoi l'assassinerent-ils? . 

Ajuvs l'avoir tile, demeurrrent- 
ils maitres do tresor ? 

Qui demeora maitre du tre- 
sor? 

Les deux autres voyageura 

mangi-rent-ils lew eaina- 

rade i 
Aprt's I'avoii tiu', de quoi 

demeurerent-ils les mai- 
trcs ? 

Qu'avail apporte' on dea voy- 
ageurs r 
Avait-il empoi8onn4 la viande? 

Pourquoi avait-il empoisonnc 

la viande ? 
Qu'avaienl i manger li - 

trea 'In tresor J 

( v >ui avait de la viande a man- 
gl i I 

I., i maitres <lu tresor man- 

nr-ils la viande? 
Pourquoi la mnng&ent-ila ? . 

Qui avail taim ? 

Qui avait empoigonne' la vi- 
ands ? 



Pendant l'absence de leur 

camarade. 
Dans le chemin. 
Contre leur camarade. 



Les deux autres voyageurs. 
Pendant l'absence de leur 

camarade. 
lis avaient le tresor. 



Ilsassassinerent leur camarade. 

Dans le chemin. 

A son retour. 

Afin d'avoir le tresor pour eux 

seuls. 
Oui, Messieurs. 

Les deux autres voyageurs. 

Non, mais a son retour ils 
l'assassinerent. 

lis (lemeuivrent les maitres 
da tresor et de la viande 
que leur camarade avail 

apportee a manger, 

II avait apporte de la viande. 

Oui Messieurs, il l'avait eni- 

poisonnee. 
Afin que sea camaradea mou- 

ruasent en la mangeant 

lis avaient de la viande. 
Les maitres du tn'sor. 

Oui, ils la mangerent. 



lis avaient laim. 

Lea troia voyageurs. 
I In dea troia voyageurs. 



CONSTRUCTION. Oit 

Qui la mangea? .... Les deux autres. 

Quand la mangerent-ils ? . . Apres avoir tue leur camarade. 

Que mangerent les deux autres lis mangerent de la viande 
apres avoir tue leur cama- empoisonnee. 

rade? 

Moururent-ils apres avoir Oui Messieurs, ils moururent. 
mange la viande em- 
poisonnee ? 

Les voyageurs moururent-ils Oni, ils moururent tous. 
tous les trois. 

Quand moururent les trois L'un apres son retour, les 
voyageurs? deux autres apres avoir 

mange de la viande em- 
poisonnee. 

Oii moururent-ils? . . . . Dans le chemin. 



CONSTRUCTION. 

XI. 

Apres /'avoir tue .... After having killed him. 
Ils /'assassinerent . . . They assassinated him. 

Perhaps there is no difficulty more embarrassing to the 
learner, than that arising from the diversity of meaning 
peculiar to the little words le and la. We have already had 
occasion to remark, that le and la are sometimes to oe 
rendered into English by the, and at other times by him, her, or 
it. Persons who have gone partially over a French grammar, 
are aware that le and la are articles, and so equivalent to the 
English word the; but not having pursued their studies far 
enough, are not acquainted with the pronominal signification 
of the words. They have in consequence associated le and la 
with the English word the, and the result of this association is 
that they are confounded with the first page of any French 
author they attempt to translate. If any one, for instance, were 
to suppose that the /'s in the phrases we have quoted above 
from our text, signify the, he could not possibly make sense 
of them. In translating, the meaning of such long words as 
assassinerent may generally be guessed at, but the little words 
like le and la completely upset the partially initiated. We have 



40 CONSTRUCTION. 

stated (§ X.), for the guidance of the learner in this matter, 
that when le or la occur before a verb, they must be rendered 
in English by him, her, or it; and when they occur before a 
noun, are to be rendered in English by the; but it is only in 
this last case that le and la signify the. In the phrase apres 
Vavoir tue, the word avoir is a verb; and according to what 
we have said, the /' must be rendered by one or other of the 
English pronouns him, her, or if, which of the three being 
judged from the context. We have quoted the two phrases, 
however, at the head of this article, not so much to illustrate 
the meanings of le and l,t, as to recal the attention of the 
learner to the manner he is to deal with the English words 
him, her, and it, when he has got to translate them into 
French. \Vc have said elsewhere that there is no use for the 
word it in French. Every thing is said to be him or her ; thus 
the word oitmde being feminine, the English phrase they ate it, 
the pronoun it referring to the noun meat, would have to be 
rendered into French, they ate het ; and in the same way in 
speaking of the treasure, the English phrase they ate it, would 
have t<» be rendered, they ate him, the word Msor being a 
masculine noun. It will be seen by the phrase, its Passasri- 
nfrenti that the pronoun him is represented by the word L- 
abridged into /', on account of the following vowel, according 
to the rule we gave (§ II). In the same way, thcij assassinated 
her would be in French, i/s I'assatsin&rent, exactly the same as 
the other, the '/ of the la being likewise subject to elision. 

When however the verb begins with a consonant, the distinc- 
tion between him and her would be as apparent in French as 

ii is in English; thus, they ate him would be il% le mangirent, 
but the y ate her, i/s la mangerenty the /<• and la in these eases 

not being subject to elision. The learner will also observe 
that the English order of the words in such phrases is inverted 
ia their French equivalents; for, instead of saying, they BSSM* 

Binated him, we must say, they him assassinated, il» I'ai 
tiirent. We shall introduce into the exercise, under the head 
Composition, some English phrases, containing him, //<•/•, and 

it, to be turned into French, in order to familiarise the learner 
with the pronominal use of/c and la. 



CONSTRUCTION. 41 



XII. 



Mais les deux autres qui avai- But the two others who had 

ent concu un semblable conceived a similar design 

dessein contre lui /'assas- " against him, assassinated 

sinerent a son retour. him on his return. 

It will be observed from the above sentence, that besides 
the pronoun le, there is another French word equivalent to the 
English pronoun him, and that this word is lui. When in 
English the word him is the direct object of a transitive verb, 
such as killed, assassinated, ate; him is then rendered by le: but 
when him or her is preceded by a preposition, then they must 
be rendered in French by lux. In our text, the word contre, 
against, is a preposition, and the word him following it, must in 
consequence be lux not le; in the same way, of him, to him, by 
him, for him, must be rendered in French, de hi, a lui, and pour 
lui, and so in all other cases where a preposition precedes, the 
word him has to be rendered by lui. This double translation 
of the word him, is one of the difficulties to be encountered in 
writing French, but a little attention to the nature of the words 
will enable the learner to judge whether he should employ le 
or lui in translating him. 



XIII. 

II avait congu un semblable He had conceived a similar 
dessein. design. 

The letter c is pronounced in French exactly as it is in 
English, that is, like s before e and x, and like k before a, o, 
and u. It happens, however, that in some French verbs c must 
have its hissing sound before the last-named vowels: when such 
is the case, a little mark called a cedilla is placed under the c, 
as in the word concu in the text; without the cedilla, this word 
would have to be pronounced kon-ku; in writing this word, 
the learner must take care therefore not to omit the cedilla. 



42 CONSTRUCTION. 

XIV. 

Apres Pavoir tue . . . After having killed him. 

In this phrase, the word avoir is in the infinitive mood, and 
literally signifies to have. The English, after all their prepo- 
sitions, except to, are in the practice of employing the present 
participle ending in ing; but in French, all the prepositions 
except en govern the infinitive mood of the verb: thus we must 
say in French, after to have, of to have, from to have, for to 
have, etc.; and not as in English, after having, of having, from 
having, for having. This is a very marked peculiarity, and 
exhibits one of the most striking differences in the construction 
of the two languages; it would be very bad English to say for 
to have, and it would be absolute nonsense to say in French fir 
having. In rendering therefore such English phrases, as — after 
having put poison in the meat, after having killed their com- 
panion, after having eaten the travellers, after having brought 
the poison, — the learner must bear in mind that the French 
construction is, aprfa avoir mis do poison dans la viande, after 
to have pot the poison in the meat; aprrs avoir tue leur cama- 
rade, after to have killed their companion; aprfa avoir mango 
Irs voyagenrs, after to have eaten the travellers; apres avoir 

apporte' le poison, after to have brought the poison; and so in 
all similar eases. 

XV. 

Trois voyageurs trooverenl on Three travellers found a trea- 
tresor dans leur chemin, el sure on their way, ana 

dirent, notU iirniisfiim. said, >cc are hungry. 

In the above sentence, the words now avons /aim are trans- 
lated literally ta have junger, and this is the manner in which 
the English expression we are hungry must be rendered into 
French. In the same way, we were hungry would have to be 
rendered we had hunger. The English say, I have a headache, 
and I have a cold, and it would only be according to the 
analogy of their own language to say, I have hunger also, 
however, sine.' it happens thai thi> is no! the case, the learner 



CONSTRUCTION. 4'J 

must bear in mind the difference in this respect between the 
construction of his own and the French language. The 
English phrases, he zvas hungry, and they were hungry, will 
have to be rendered, 

II avait faim .... He had hunger. 

lis avaient faim . . . They had hunger. 

XVI. 

lis moururent tous deux . . . They both died. 

We have already said, chemin faisant, that the English word 
both has no single equivalent in French, so that the notion of 
both has to be rendered in the latter language by a periphrasis. 
The word is most usually rendered by the phrase, tous les 
deux, all the two; but occasionally the article les is dropped, and 
the phrase assumes the form tous deux, all two, as we have it 
in our text. It is very likely that they died all two may 
sound somewhat odd in the ears of an Englishman, but it is 
only because he has not been used to it. The phrase, they died 
all two, is just as logical as they died all three, although the 
first appears very bad English, and the second very good. We 
mention this because the learner generally, when he meets with 
a construction that he is not familiar with, is very apt to suppose 
that there is some great mystery at the bottom of it, while in 
reality it exists in his own language, and is as simple in itself 
as the construction of any other assemblage of words: a little 
judgment exercised in the study of a language will dissipate a 
vast number of apparent difficulties of this nature. The learner 
has to bear in mind that the word both is to be rendered by all 
two, tous deux in French, or when a greater degree of exacti- 
tude is wanted, by all the two, tous les deux. 

In English, the word both may be put either before or after 
the verb; it would be as correct to say, they both died, as to 
say they died both. In French, however, the adverb cannot be 
moved about in this way; there is only one way of arranging 
the words in a phrase like this, that is by placing the adverb 
tous deux after the verb, as in the text. 



44 



PRONUNCIATION. 

ACCENTED LETTERS. 

The vowel e has altogether in French four sounds: in order 
to shew when it should be pronounced in one and when in 
another manner, little marks called accents are employed. The 
following table exhibits the various sounds of the e, together with 
the manner in which they are distinguished one from another. 

e with an acute accent thus e, is pronounced like a in the 
English word mate. 

e with a grave accent thus e, is pronounced iike e in the 
English word best. 

e with a circumflex accent thus o, is pronounced like e, but a 
little longer. 

e without an accent is called the e mute, and is generally silent; 
when pronounced it has the sound of ca in the English 
word earth. 

From this table the learner will observe that when he meets 

with an e having an BCtlte accent upon it thus .', be must pro- 
nounce it like the a iii tin- English words, make, cake, hike; and 
when he meets with an <■ having the grave accent e, <>r the 

eircuinilex accent thus r, lie must pronounce it like e in the 

English words prete, dress, mess. So far as the accented e's 

are concerned there is no difficulty, the e and the c may lie 

considered as two distinct letters of the French alphabet, each 
having its own sound and characteristic properties, whilst the 
c may he Balled a long S, and considered as such. We should 
now advise the learner to go over the sections of the text, an I 

pronounce the accented e's according tn the foregoing directions 
without paying attention to tin- equivalents we have given 
of them in our verbal pronunciation, in this manner the habit 
will be acquired of pronouncing the accented e correctly. We 
would also h>re strongly impn ss upon the observation of the 

1 arner the necessity of ATTENTION : he has been accustomed 
from his infancy to MSOCJnte the letter e with a set of sounds, 

many of which arc totally different from tin' French sounds of 



PRONUNCIATION. 45 

the letter, he must therefore be watchful lest his inherent 
notions mislead him in the pronunciation of the French e. 
The accented e's in French have only the sounds we have 
described; these must always be given them, otherwise the 
word in which they occur will be rendered unintelligible, and 
the sense or meaning of the speaker, consequently, totally 
obscured. 

The e mute, as its name implies, so far as pronunciation is 
concerned, is a nonentity; it is a mere orthographic sign, not 
an absolute letter. There are some cases, however, in which 
it may be pronounced. The phrase, il se detacha, occurring in 
our text, may be pronounced eels detacha, suppressing entirely 
the unaccented e, or the little word se may be pronounced 
distinctly, giving the e the shut sound of ea of the English 
word earth, as already stated. The pronunciation of the e mute 
is therefore quite arbitrary, depending entirely upon the taste 
or the style of the speaker. This unaccented e has given rise 
to much learned disquisition amongst writers of French gram- 
mars; they have contrived to discover in this simple matter 
the most insuperable difficulties, and the greatest possible 
amount of doubt and dubity. These perplexities are not said 
to consist in explaining the sound itself; that we have given is 
sufficiently precise, but in knowing when to pronounce the 
letter, and when to leave it entirely silent: one Frenchman,* 
who has written two very respectable duodecimo volumes to 
enlighten the English on this knotty point, after quoting a 
dozen pages of illustrations, says, " All these examples show, 
rather than solve the difficulty; but it is impossible to give 
certain and invariable rules by which foreigners may be able 
to make so many nice distinctions, which depend greatly on 
the judgment of the speaker or reader, and are not always 
(qy. never) attended to by the natives themselves." Had this 
writer limited his treatise to this one passage, we conceive he 
would have acted wisely, for in this single sentence he has 
said all that need be said on the subject. The pronunciation 
of the e mute is admissible in an elevated style, but its pro- 
nunciation in colloquial intercourse would only be tolerated 
* Duvergers' Treatise on the French Pronunciation, Part I. 



46 PRONUNCIATION. 

when the meaning of a word or the sense of a sentence would 
be obscured by its omission, or when great clearness of ex- 
pression is required. In every instance where the unaccented 
e occurs in our text, it may be left entirely silent, and on the 
other hand, it might be in most cases slightly enunciated. The 
unaccented e is rarely pronounced in ordinary conversation, and 
very rarely silent in a solemn discourse ; it might be pronounced 
at the Palais du Luxembourg, but would be silent within the 
precincts of the Tuileries. 

The accents, besides being employed to point out the sounds 
of the e, are occasionally used to distinguish some words from 
certain other words resembling them in orthography, but 
differing materially in meaning; thus the letter a in French 
without an accent is a verb, and is equivalent to the English 
word luis, but a With a grave accent thus d, is a preposition, 
and signifies in English to or at; and again, the adverb ou, 
where, has a grave accent to distinguish it from the conj unction 
on, or. The accents in these cases do not affect in any way 
the pronunciation of the letter over which they are placed, they 
are orthographic >\<j;ns only.* The circumflex accent is used 
to mark the omission of an .>. The word vuiilrc in the text is 
derived from the Latin word maiistsr, or according to the modern 
Latin spelling vuii/ist, r, the Romans writing an s, though very 
probably they did not pronounee it. The older French writers 
wrote the word maistrr, whence the English have obtained 
their word tn<.st,r, where the i is retained and the i dropped. 
The eircumflex aeeent requires the voiee to rest slightly Oil 
the letter whereon it is placed, in order to compensate for the 
omission of the \. an in the ease of the r already deseribed. 

We have now explained the use and application of the 

accents in French, they only affect the pronunciation, iii 
as the a ifl Concerned; we shall henceforth, in giving the pro- 
nunciation of the French words, leave the accented < '> to »peak 
for themselves, as the learner may now be fairly supposed to 
know how to pronounce them. 

• And it may be u-iful to observe that the . oly if used in 

. the acut« accent it never employed men ly t<> disti 



47 



COMPOSITION. 



He had. 

He had a treasure. 

Had he a treasure ? 

Who had a treasure? 

They had. 

What had they? 

They had a companion. 

Had they the meat? 

They had the meat, two trea- 
sures, and three inten- 
tions. 

Had they three designs? 

No, but they had three com- 
panions. 

Who had three companions ? 

The traveller who had the two 
intentions. 

Who had the treasure ? 

The two other travellers. 

When they had the treasure, 
had they also their com- 
panion ? 

No, they had poisoned him. 

After the two others had poi- 
soned their companion, 
what had they ? 

They had the treasure and 
also the meat, but their 
companion had poisoned 
it. 

When had their companion 
poisoned the meat? 

He had poisoned the meat 
during the absence of his 
companions. 

Who had conceived a design? 

One of the travellers. 

Against whom had he con- 
ceived a design ? 

Against the masters of the 
treasure. 

After having conceived his 
design, did he execute it? 



Yes, he executed his design. 

The masters of the treasure, 
had they also conceived 
a design ? 

Yes, they had conceived a 
design against the treasure, 
and two others against 
their companions. 

Who was hungry? 

One of the travellers. 

Had he anything to eat ? 

Were his two companions 
hungry ? 

Yes, but they had something 
to eat. 

What had the two travellers 
to eat? 

They had the treasure, the 
poisoned meat, and a 
companion to eat. 

Where did the travellers live ? 

They lived, at Paris. 

When did the masters of the 
treasure live at Paris ? 

They lived at Paris after 
having killed their com- 
panion. 

Whom did the three travellers 
assassinate ? 

They assassinated two travel- 
lers and their companion. 

Why did they assassinate their 
companion ? 

In order to have his trea- 
sure. 

After having killed tneir com 
panion, whom did they 
assassinate ? 

They assassinated two other 
travellers. 

Did they assassinate their 
companion after having 
killed the travellers? 



48 



COMPOSITION. 



No, they assassinated the tra- 
vellers after having killed 
their companion. 

Where did they assassinate 
their companion ? 

They assassinated him on the 
road. 

Whom did they assassinate on 
the road ? 

They assassinated the masters 
of the treasure, the three 
travellers, and also their 
two companions. 

They ate. 

What did they eat? 

They ate the treasure. 

After having eaten the trea- 
sure, what did they eat ? 

They ate the meat. 

After having eaten that, what 
did they cat t 

They ate their companion. 

After having eaten the trea- 
sure, the meat, and their 
companion, what did they 
eal 7 

They ate two Other com- 
panions. 

Why did they cat their com- 
panions? 

They were hungry. 

After having eaten all tin ir 

companions, what did 

they cat ? 
They ate each other (se). 
They died. 

Did all the three travellers die ' 
.11 the travellers died. 

Did the masters of the trea- 
sure die also ? 

Yes, they both died. 

When did the two travellers 

die? 
After having killed and eaten 
their companion. 



Where did the travellers die ? 

Two died at Paris, the other 
three died on the road. 

During the absence of their 
comrade, the travellers 
ate each other. 

After having killed some and 
poisoned others, the two 
travellers remained mas- 
ters of the meat; but 
after having eaten it, they 
both died. 

The masters of the treasure 
assassinated, and ate their 
companion, but they both 
died also. 

During the absence of their 
companion, the two others 
had eaten the treasure. 

Whilst the two travellers 
remained masters of the 
treasure, they had where- 
withal to eat ; but after 
having killed their com- 
panion, they both died 
of hunger. 

One of the travellers, during 
the absence of the other 
two, had conceived the 
design of eating the trea- 
sure, but the two others 
on their return assassi- 

oated him. 
After having killed their com- 
panion, the two others 

ate some poisoned meat 
as a refreshment. 

The poison killed one of the 
travellers, the treasure 
killed all three. 

After having eaten the trea- 
sure, the meat, and their 
companion, toe three tra- 
vellers died of hunger. 



THE FRENCH LANGUAGE. 



LESSON FOURTH. 



READING. 

REPETITION. 

Il avait. II avait un tresor. Avait-il un tresor? 
Qui avait un tresor; lis avaient. Qu'avaient-ils? 
Us avaient un caraarade. Avaient-ils la viande ? lis 
avaient la viande, deux tresors, et trois intentions. 
Avaient ils trois desseins ? Non, mais ils avaient 
trois camarades. Qui avait trois camarades? Le 
voyageur qui avait les deux intentions. Qui avait 
le tresor? Les deux autres voyageurs. Quand ils 
avaient le tresor avaient-ils aussi leur camarade ? 
Non, ils l'avaient empoisonne. Apres que les deux 
autres eurent empoisonne leur camarade, qu'avaient- 
ils? Ils avaient le tresor et la viande, mais leur 
camarade l'avait empoisonnee. Quand, leur cama- 
rade avait-il empoisonne la viande? II avait 
empoisonne la viande pendant l'absence de ses 
camarades. Qui avait con^u un dessein ? Un des 
voyageurs. Contre qui avait-il con^u un dessein? 
Contre les maitres du tresor. Apres avoir concu son 
dessein l'executa-t-il? Oui, il executa son dessein. 



50 READING. 

Les maitres du tresor avaient-ils aussi conc.u un des- 
sein ? Oui, ils avaient cone, u un dessein contre le tresor 
et deux autres contre leurs camarades. Qui avait 
faim ? Un des voyageurs. Avait-il de quoi manger ? 
Ses deux camarades avaient-ils faim? Oui, mais ils 
avaient de quoi manger. Qif avaient les deux voya- 
geurs a manger? lis avaient a manger le tresor, de 
la viande empoisonnee, et un camarade. Ou demeu- 
rerent les trois voyageurs? Ils demeurerent a Paris. 
Quand les mattres du tresor demeurerent-ils a Paris? 
Ils demeurerent a Paris apres avoir tue" leur cama- 
rade. Qui, les trois voyageurs assassinerent-ils ? Ils 

-iuercnt deux voyageurs et leur camarade. Pour- 
qiioi assassinerent-ils leur camarade ? Ann d 'avoir 
son tresor. Apres avoir tue leur camarade qui assas 
Binereiit-ilsl Us assassia&renl deux autres voyageurs. 

— !ii< Tent-Ms leur eauiarade apres avoir tue les 
royagemsS Won, ils aasassfn-erenl les voyageurs 
ajin ■> avoir tue leur camarade. Ou assassiuerent-ils 
leur camaraile \ Ils [*asaatsioeren< dans le chemin. 
Qui assassinerent-ils dans le eheinin ? Ils I 
-iuercnt les uiaitres du treSOT, les trois voyageurs, el 
aussi leun deux camarades. 

lis inaii!_<Tent. Que luauevrcnt-ils ? Ils man- 
gereBl le treaor. Apres avoir mange le tresor, que 
niaiievrent-ils \ lis inaugorent la viande. Apres 
avoir inaii^f cela, que mangerent-ils ? Ils inangerent 
leur camarade. Apres avoir mange le tresor, la 
viande. et leur eauiarade, que mang&rent-ils ? Ils 
mangorent deux autres camarades. Pourquoi liian- 
'j/Teiit-ils leurs camarades? \U avaient faim. Apres 



avoir mange tous leurs camarades, que mangerent-ils? 
lis se mangerent. lis moururent. Les voyageurs 
moururent-ils tous les trois ? Oui, tous les voyageurs 
moururent. Les maitres du tresor moururent-ils 
aussi? Oui, ils moururent tous les deux. Quand 
les deux voyageurs moururent-ils ? Apres avoir tue 
et mang6 leur eamarade. Ou moururent les voy- 
ageurs? Deux moururent a Paris, les trois autres 
dans le chemin. Pendant l'absence de leur eama- 
rade, les voyageurs se mangerent les uns les autres. 
Apres avoir tue les uns et empoisonn6 les autres, les 
voyageurs demeurerent maitres de la viande, mais 
apres l'avoir mange ils moururent tous. Les maitres 
du tresor assassinerent et mangerent leur eamarade, 
mais tous les deux moururent aussi. Pendant l'ab- 
sence de leur eamarade les deux autres avaient mange 
le tresor. Pendant que les deux voyageurs demeu- 
rerent maitres du tresor ils avaient de quoi manger, 
mais apres avoir tue leur eamarade ils moururent 
de faim tous les deux. Un des voyageurs pendant 
Tabsence des deux autres avait coneu le dessein de 
manger le tresor, mais les deux autres a leur retour 
1'assassinerent. Apres avoir tu6 leur eamarade, les 
deux autres mangerent pour repas de la viande 
empoisonnee. Le poison avait tue un des voyageurs, 
le tresor avait tue les trois. Aprfcs avoir mange le 
tresor, la viande, et leur eamarade, les trois voyageurs 
moururent de faim. 



52 READING. 

CONTINUATION OF TEXT. 

Un pbilosophe passant par cet endroit-la, dit: voila, 
quel est le monde ! Voyez de quelle maniere il a 
trait6 ces trois personnes. Malheur a celui qui lui 
demande des richesses. 



In order that the learner may read the above, we shall, as in 
the case of the former portions of the text, proceed to give the 
pronunciation of the present section. 

Un philosophe passant par cet endroit-la, dit: 
Un fee-lo-sof pas-a/j par set en-drwa la, dee : 

voihi, quel est le monde ! Voyez de quelle maniere 

wa-la, kel ai w 1 mond ! Voyai w d kel man-yer 

il a traite* ces trois personnes. Malheur a celui 

eel a trai-te - s£ trwa per-son. Mal-eur* a w s-lfiee 

qui lui demande des richesses. 
kee lfiee w d-mand de n-e-shta. 

To read the above correctly, the learner must continue to 
bear in mind what lias been said in the first lesson about the 
nasal sound, which we continue to distinguish by italics, as also 
what was said of the vowel u in the second lesson, and finally, 
the pronunciation of the accented ft given in the third lesson. 
We would again urge the necessity of the learner sustaining 
his attention on these particular points; this is essential to an 
exact comprehension of the pronunciation of the words of 
the text, and consequently, on this depends the chief advan- 
tage the learner can hope to obtain from our lessons. The 
words of our text are not numerous, but they will serve as a 
key to the entire system of French pronunciation. The 
principles we shall lay down for the guidance of the learner in 
their pronunciation, if well fixed upon his memory, will enable 
him to pronounce, with a very few exceptions, every word in 
the language correctly. 

• For the pronunciation of the eu, see article Pronunciation, page 61. 



VOCABULARY. 53 

TRANSLATION. 

Un philosophe passant par cet endroit-la dit: 
A philosopher passing by that place there, said: 

voila, quel est le raonde ! Voyez de quelle maniere 
See there, what is the world ! See of what manner 

il a traite ces trois personnes. Malheur a celui 

it has treated these three persons. Woe to him 

qui lui demande des richesses. 
who at it asks of the riches. 

VOCABULARY. 

The present portion of text consists of thirty-one words, ten 
of which have already been seen ; and the five words philosophe, 
manikre, passant, personnes, and richesses, are nearly the same 
in form with their English equivalents. This vocabulary will 
therefore only consist of seventeen words. 

Par by 

/ this 

Cet (that 

endroit place 

la there 

«* (bSSr 

$'1 t* 

est is 

le monde .... the world 
( see 

v °y ez {look 

a ...... . has 

traite treated 

f these 
ces • ' • ' ' '{those 

" (misfortune 

celui. .... .{j\ e m 

r ask 

demande . . . . { 

1 want 

I wants 

des of the 



54 



Mesdames, . 


. Ladies, proi 


Ge, . . . 


. it or that, 


Pourquoi, 


■ «%, 


Parceque, 


. because, 


Combien, 


[how much,\ 
\hoiomany,) 


Quelquefois, . 


. sometimes, 


Au, . . . 


. to the or at the 


Etait, . . . 


. icas, 



CONVERSATION. 

The following new words will be introduced into this exercise : 

pronounced medam. 
s. 

poor-kica. 
pars-ky. 

kom-be-En. 

kelk-fioa. 

o. 

6tai. 

In the reading exercise we have given e us the pronunciation 
of the word est, fo Above, we see that the little word ce, it, 
when denuded of its e mute has the sound of s ; the learner 
will observe from this, that cst-ce, is it, should be pronounced 
ts, and for the same reasons that qu'est-ce? what is it? should 
be pronounced ke8. It may DOt be out of place to notice here 
a peculiar manner of patting in French the question, What is 
that? The learnc r is already aware that "what is that" should 
be rendered by <///'< st oeklf but though " qu'est cela " is very 
COtnmonly used, the form most employed is qu'est-ce que rest 
qu, cda ? Tin's phrase translated literally gives in English, 
What is it that that is that that? Such a multitude of thata 
looks like a very prosy way of saying What is that? If how- 
ever the learner has borne in mind the pronunciation we have 

given of the individual words composing qu'ett-Ct que t'est qi/r 

celaf he will find the whole amount to kesk-mk-da; the French 

interrogation in reality not requiring more time in its eiiini- 
eiation than the English u-lmt is that. 

Qu'est-ce que die un philo- Lephilosophedit, "voilii,quel 
Bophe? estlemonde! Voyez de 

quelle maniere il a train- 
ees trois personnes." 

()u dit-il cela? Dans le chemin. 

Quand le dit-il ? . . En passant a Pendroit ou 

moururent les trois voya- 
ge urs. 



CONVERSATION. 



55 



Est-ce que le philosophe dit, 
"voila, les trois voya- 
geurs?" 

Est-ee qu'il dit, "voila, ces 
trois personnes?" 



Qui le monde a-t-il traite ? . 
Qui est-ce qui a traite trois 



personnes 



Comment le monde a-t-il traite 



trois personnes 



le 



Combien de personnes 
monde a-t-il traite ? 

Quelles trois personnes le 
monde a-t-il traite d'une 
maniere ? 

Quels trois voyageurs ? . . 



Pourquoi le monde a~t-il traite 
ces trois voyageurs d'une 
maniere ? 

Qu'est-ce que c'est qu'un 
malheur d'apres le philo- 
sophe ? 

Qui est-ce qui dit: malheur a 
celui qui demande des 
richesses au monde? 

Pourquoi dit-il cela? . . . 

Le philosophe dit-il: malheur 
a celui qui a des richesses? 

Le philosophe dit-il que c'est 
un malheur d'avoir des 
richesses ? 

Pourquoi est-ce un malheur 
que de demander des 
richesses? 

Est-ce que le philosophe de- 
. mande des richesses au 
monde ? 

Comment est-ce un malheur? 



Non, mesdames. 

Non, mesdames, mais il dit, 
" voila, de quelle maniere 
le monde a traite ces 
trois personnes." 

Trois personnes. 

Le monde. 

D'une maniere. 

II a traite trois personnes. 

Les trois voyageurs. 



Les voyageurs qui trouverent 
un tresor dans leur che- 
min. 

Parce qu'ils lui avaient de- 
mande des richesses. 

C'est un malheur de demander 
des richesses au monde. 



Un philosophe. 



Parce qu'il etait philosophe. 
Non, mesdames. 

Non, mais il dit: que c'est un 
malheur de les demander 
au monde. 

Parceque le philosophe le dit. 



Non, mesdames, il dit : que 
c'est un malheur de les 
demander. 

Voyez les trois voyageurs ils 
moururent apres avoir 
demande des richesses. 



56 



CONSTRUCTION. 



Est-ce que les voyageurs de- 
manderent des richesses 
au monde ? 

Etait- ce a fin d'avoir ses 
richesses qu'ils assassi- 
nerent leur camarade ? 



Est-ce que toutes les per- 
sonnes qui demandent 
des richesses au monde 
meurent? 



De quelle maniere le monde 
a-t-il traite les trois voy- 
ageurs? 

Qui est-ce qui dit cela? 

A qui dit-il cela? 

Etait-il a Paris quand il dit 
cela? 



Non, mais afin de les avoir 
ils assassinerent leur ca- 
marade. 

Oui mesdames; et leur ca- 
marade, afin d'avoir le 
tresor a lui seul, mit du 
poison dans la viande 
qu'il avait apportee pour 
manner. 

Non mesdames ; mais quand 
ils assassinent leurs cama- 
rades afin d'avoir leurs 
richesses, ils me,urent 
quelquefois, — voyez de 
quelle maniere le monde 
a traite les trois voyageurs. 

II les a traite de maniere qu'ils 
moururent tous les trois. 

Un philosoplie. 
A tout le monde. 
Non, il 6tait a l'endroit ou 
moururent les voyageurs. 



CONSTRUCTION. 
XVII. 

Malheur a celui qui lui de- "Woe to him', who asks it for 
mande de richesses. riches. 

We have stated elsewhere, that the English pronouns him, 
her, and it, when the direct objects of a transitive verb, are 
rendered in French by le or la placed before the verb by 
which they are governed ; as 

They ate kirn Us le mangerent. 

They ate her Us la mangerent. 

We have also stated that when the pronouns him, her, and it, 
are in English preceded by to, at, or any other preposition, 
they are to be rendered in French by lui, as 

The travellers had conceived Les voyageurs avaient concu 

a design against him. un dessein contre lui. 

He said into himself ... II dit en lui-meme. 



CONSTRUCTION. 57 

In the sentence we have quoted at the head of this article, 
there is an apparent exception to the latter rule, since we have 
the word him rendered by lui, even although no preposition 
precedes the him in the English sentence. This arises from 
the mutability of the English language: it would be quite as 
good English to say, in speaking of the world, " miserable is 
he who asks at it for riches," as to say, " miserable is he who 
asks it for riches," only the English usually dispense with the 
preposition at in such cases, and hence the apparent departure 
from the rule we have given. Although the English can in 
this way say "who asks it, or who asks at it," indiscriminately, 
the French language is not susceptible of any variable property 
of this kind: the preposition a, to or at, must under such cir- 
cumstances invariably follow the verb demander, to ask; we 
cannot say in French, " who asks it," the genius of the language 
requires us to say, " who asks at it." 

But we may be told that there is no d after the verb demande 
in the sentence we have quoted from the text: true, there is 
none in appearance; it will be observed, however, that lui 
precedes the verb demande : in such a position, lui has the sig- 
nification of d lui in any other — lui before a verb is precisely 
equivalent to d lui placed after one. And we have the sentence 
who asks it, or who asks at it, rendered by qui lui demande, 
instead of qui demande a lui, because it is more consonant with 
the structure of the language to express at it by placing lui 
before the verb, than by placing d lui after it. 

It is in matters of this kind that the judgment and observa- 
tion of the learner might be advantageously exercised; the 
difficulties of the language are often hid in minute verbal 
modifications. The property that little words like lui possess 
of assuming a variety of meanings from a change of position, 
is also a source of great embarrassment to beginners. A little 
exertion of the perceptive faculties will do more for the learner 
in overcoming difficulties of this nature than the explanations 
of all the masters in the United Kingdom, who nine cases in 
ten are totally ignorant of the animus of such detail, and con- 
sequently are incapable of supplying the place of intellect to 
the student. 



58 CONSTRUCTION. 

The words of the English language are not in general sus- 
ceptible of a change of meaning from the change of position; 
but in French a word has often a very different signification 
in one set of words from that it has in another set. For 
instance, in the sentence — 

u Un d'eux se detacha et alia " One of them departed and 
dans l'intention de leur went away in the in ten- 

apporter de quoi faire un tion of bring in to them 

repas :" wherewithal to make a 

meal :" 

the word leur occurs before a verb, and in that position is 
to be rendered in English by to them; but in the following 

sentence — 

"Trois voyageurs trouverent "Three travellers found a 
un tresor dans leur che- 



the word Inir occurs before the noun chemui, and in that 
position has no longer the meaning of to thcni, but must be 

rendered in English by fair. In beginning to read French, 

attention to points like these is of great importance: the exact 
value of the little words being known, the sense of a p. 
will always be clear; but until this is the case, the meaning of 
an author will ever appear obscure. 

The sentence we have cited from our text illustrates two 
points to be noticed in writing French: first, that the verb 
demander, to ash, requires the preposition a. to or at, after it; 
and secondly, that tu or at him, h»r, or it, arc rendered in 

French by placing the angle word bd before a verb. 
In the same sentence we observe the word fat, aim, rendered 

by iclui after a proposition as w. 11 as lui; the little particle '«' 
prefixed to the /«i, is equivalent to the English word thai ; 

<■<////, therefore* when reduced to its primeval elements, is equi- 
valent to thai kirn, the u \x ing obviously, in this instance, 

appended to the lui merely for the >ake of emphasis or euphony; 
but be this as it may, cc/ui must always be used under similar 
circumstani 



CONSTRUCTION. 59 

XVIII. 

Un philosophe passant par cet A philosopher passing by that 
endroit-la. place. 

We have already spoken fully of the various significations 
of the little words le and la : we have said, that when le or la 
occur before a noun, they are to be rendered in English by 
the; as 

Nous avons le tresor . . We have the treasure. 
Nous avons la viande . . We have the meat. 

But when they occur before a verb, le and la are pronouns, 
and have to be rendered in English by him, her, or it. 

lis la mangerent .... They ate her or it. 
lis le mangerent .... They ate him or it. 

It will be observed from the phrase we have quoted above 
from the text, that the word la has also to be rendered in 
English by the adverb there. When, however, this is the 
case, the a of the la is always marked with a grave accent, 
thus— Id, as we see in the text; there cannot, therefore, be 
any difficulty when la has the meaning there y since so visible 
a sign is used to point it out. 

It may be asked, what business has the word there in the 
sentence under consideration? This is another matter, and 
merits a little explanation. The English have the two little 
demonstrative words this and that — this expressing an object 
spoken of to be near, and that expressing the object spoken of 
to be distant. The French have only the little particle ce to 
express both these relative positions of an object, and are 
consequently obliged to use some other word along with it to 
indicate more exactly the position of the object. The words 
used for this purpose are ci, here, and Id, there. In order to 
express the English words this and that, the French are obliged 
to proceed in the following manner: 

This world. . . ce monde-ci . . this here world. 

That treasure . ce tresor-la . . that there treasure. 

This philosopher, ce philosophe-ci . this here philosopher. 

That place . . cet endroit-la . that there place. 



60 CONSTRUCTION. 

The English occasionally employ a similar construction; for 
instance, in the phrases "down that 'ere street," u up that 'ere 
stair," but we presume such phrases are exotics, as the word 
'ere or there is superfluous in such cases, the word this or that 
expressing precisely enough the relative position of the objects 
indicated. In French, however, it is necessary to say, " that 
there place," or rather, " that place there," and to employ the 
adverb there in all cases where the object spoken of is not 
present to the speaker; as otherwise, the ce would not, if 
employed alone, indicate with a sufficient degree of clearness 
the object spoken of. 

It will be observed by the learner, that the adverb Id, when 
employed in this way, is joined by a hyphen to the noun that 
precedes it, and also that ce is used before a word beginning 
with a consonant, and cct before words beginning with a vowel. 

XIX. 

lis avairo/ They had. 

11 avail He had. 



The syllable ait at the end of verbs is never pronounced; 
it follows, that the word aoaiatt, given above, should be pro- 
nounced as if written av-ui. We may also observe here, that 
final consonants are generally silent in French; so that the 
word avail, given above, should also be pronounced as if 
written av-ai. The two words arait and avaicnt, consequently, 
though differing in spelling, are pronounced exactly alike. 
The learner must, however, be careful always to write in the 
plural avairiit, and in the singular avait, as — 

lis avaient un tresor They had a treasure. 

II avait un tresor . . He had a treasure. 



61 
PRONUNCIATION. 

DIPHTHONGS. 

In the English language two vowels are occasionally used to 
represent a particular sound. The vowels ou, for instance, in 
the word house, represent a sound that neither the o nor the u 
resemble when pronounced individually. The same is the case 
in French: two vowels are used to represent some one particular 
sound of the language; and when two vowels are so employed, 
they are usually though improperly called diphthongs. There 
are in French altogether five diphthongs, representing five 
distinct sounds of the language, of which the following is a 
table exhibiting the sounds they represent. 

oi is pronounced like wa in the English word wall, 
at „ ai „ „ laid, 

au „ o „ „ go. 

ou „ oo „ „ good, 

eu „ eu „ „ guest.* 

The only one of these diphthongs that requires a special 
notice is the eu. This diphthong is very much/ used in French, 
and most Frenchmen pronounce it precisely as the English do 
the eu in their word guest. The natives of Paris, however, give 
the eu a deeper inflection, somewhat approaching to a in the 
English word bath. Natives of London, in their pronunciation 
of such words as birth, mirth, give the ir a sound that is an 
exact counterpart to the Parisian inflection of the French eu, 
so that they have only to transfer this sound to the French eu, 
in order to pronounce that diphthong in absolute perfection. 
Those amongst our students unacquainted with this local 
inflection of ir, must use the sound of eu in the word guest, 
which, though not the most elegant, is nevertheless the most 
common pronunciation of the diphthong. 

The learner should now go over the words of the text, and 
pronounce the diphthongs in the manner pointed out in the 
table; by doing this carefully and attentively, he will make him- 

* In all other combinations of vowels besides these, each vowel has its 
own individual sound. 



62 PRONUNCIATION. 

self familiar with the sounds and value of the combined vowels. 
When he has accomplished this, he will have gained an important 
point in his progress towards acquiring the French pronuncia- 
tion ; we say an important point, because the sounds of the five 
diphthongs may almost be said to constitute the language. 

We would here guard the student against allowing the 
peculiarities of his own language to mislead and retard him 
in the study of French. In English, diphthongs are employed 
to represent single sounds as well as in French; but the 
sound represented by a diphthong in the one language is 
in most cases totally different from the sound it represents in 
the other. Unless therefore the learner be exceedingly careful 
at the outset, he will naturally give the English sound to the 
French diphthong, and the result will be a bad pronunciation 
of the latter. The English student of French must also guard 
himself against the unfixed notions as to the value of letters he 
has imbibed with his mother tongue. An English diphthong, 
like the ehamelion, has the property of change, varying its sound 
ti) suit the convenience of the word in which it is used; take 
tor an example of this, on in the words 

C'ou-'ii. eourt, could, count. 

In each of these four words the ou has a perfectly distinct 
sound. Sneh a mrlmujc eunnot but superinduce a vague iin- 

prc anion of the value of letters i sceedingly pernicious in the 

study of spoken language But having a variety of sounds is 
not tlu- onlv noxious circumstance attendant on the English 
diphthong! some of the sounds of one diphthong arc occasion- 
ally given to another: the sound of <>u in could is also DOBf 
by the diphthong <>o in ijoiul : the OU in court is claimed by the 
on in rtmrsi ■; and the OU in count is enjoyed by the on-, in cow- 
li.nL li is a favourite theme with wrihrsol English grammars 
to sty, that an Englishman should be well grounded in his own, 

before be studies another language; we must observe that, if 

another language be grounded upon the discordant materials 
we have been now speaking of, it could not stand, it would 
soon he swallowed up in the perplexities of its foundation, and 
\er\ |.rohaU\ " leave not a wreck behind/' The mingling of 
the sounds peculiar both to the vowels and diphthongs of the 



COMPOSITION. 63 

English language, destroys the relation that should subsist 
between its orthography and pronunciation, and must at the 
same time destroy the impression that such should exist. 
Throughout the whole series of modern languages, except the 
English, and perhaps the Chinese, there is an intimate con- 
nexion between the orthography and the pronunciation. We 
do not know much either of the language or of the literature 
of the Esquimaux ; but we know enough of both, to be aware 
that greater consistency reigns between their written and spoken 
language than there does in English. The learner therefore 
must endeavour to divest his mind of the views of language 
he has obtained from his mother tongue, and replace them by 
some more stable notions as to the relation between sound and 
letter. He must not suppose that because a vowel, or a com- 
bination of vowels, has three or four different sounds in his own 
language, that such is the case in any other. The sounds we 
have given of the five French diphthongs in the preceding 
table they always have, under all circumstances and in every 
position: in this particular the French pronunciation is not only 
fixed and immutable, but exceedingly clear and simple: nothing- 
can be more easy than to pronounce the diphthongs correctly, 
and few points in the language are of more importance. 

COMPOSITION. 

He has. Is he here? 

What has he? No, he is there. 

Has he wherewithal to eat? Where is the philosopher? 

Is he wealthy? The philosopher is at Paris. 

Yes, he is rich. What is that person? 

He has said. He is a traveller. 

What has he said? What is that other person? 

Who said that? It is the philosopher. 

When did he say that? He wants. 

To whom did he say that? What does he want? 

Hesaidthatto the philosopher. He wants wealth. 

He is. Who is it that wants wealth? 

Who is he? It is the philosopher. 

Is he a philosopher? From whom does he want 

No, he is a traveller. wealth? 

Where is he? Why does he ask for riches? 



64 



COMPOSITION. 



What does that traveller want? 

He wants a place. 

What place does he want? 

He wants the place where the 
three travellers died. 

He wants also his companion. 

The person he wants is at 
Paris. 

That is a pity. 

Lookat thatperson goingalong 
there, thatis a philosopher. 

There is a traveller from Paris. 

Look at that place. 

There is a misfortune. 

Here is another. 

Here is a traveller. 

There is another. 

This person is like that. 

This philosopher is similar to 
that. 

What a pity! 

What misfortunes! 

What wealth! 

What a philosopher. 

What a lot of travellers! 

What a crowd (it people! 

What excessive politeness! 

What a place! 

There are riches I 

One of the travellers said to 
the other, we are hungry 
and must have something 
to eat, let one of us go 
and boy some meat. 



Is it 



.lurti 



to he rieh 



said two travellers who 
diet! of hunger. 

A philosopher passing the 
place where the two tra- 
vellers were eating (man- 
geaient) their companion, 
said: there is a manner 
of making a meal ! 

The three travellers said that 
their two companions died 



after having poisoned a 
philosopher. 

We are unfortunate, said two 
travellers who found a 
philosopher on their road. 

It is necessary to have some- 
thing to eat, said a phi- 
losopher, after having 
killed his comrade. 

We have something to eat, 
said the two travellers 
when they found the poi- 
soned meat. 

Now we are poisoned, said 
the two travellers, after 
having eaten the meat. 

How rich we are! said the 
three travellers when they 
found the treasure. 

We are hungry, said two 
persons when they ate 
their companion. 

We have a treasure, said two 
persons when they found 
a philosopher. 

What is wealth! said a pas- 
senger. There are three 
travellers who found a 
treasure, and afterwards 
died of hunger. 

The world treated the three 
travellers in such a man- 
ner that they all died. 

There is a way of going to 
work said a philosopher, 
when the traveller put 
poison in the meat he had 
brought to eat. 

We must eat, said the two 
travellers when they ate 
their companion. 

Here we are masters of the 
treasure! said the two 
travellers after having 
killed their companion. 



THE FRENCH LANGUAGE. 



LESSON FIFTH. 



READING. 

REPETITION, 

II a. Qu'a-t-il ? A-t-il de quoi manger ? A-t-il 
des richesses ? Oui, il a des richesses. II a dit. 
Qu'a-t-il dit? Qui a dit cela? Quand a-t-il dit 
cela ? A qui a-t-il dit cela ? II a dit cela au 
philosophe ? II est. Qui est-il ? Est-il philosophe ? 
Non, il est voyageur. Ou est-il? Est-il dans cet 
endroit-ci? Non, il est dans cet endroit-la. Ou 
est Monsieur le philosophe ? Monsieur le philosophe 
est a Paris. Quelle est cette personne-la ? C'estun 
voyageur. Quelle est cette autre personne? C'est 
le philosophe. II demande. Que demande-t-il ? II 
demande des richesses ? Qui est-ce qui demande des 
richesses? C'est le philosophe. A qui demande-t-il 
des richesses ? Pourquoi demande-t-il des richesses? 
Que demande ce voyageur-la? II demande un endroit. 
Quel endroit demande-t-il ? II demande l'endroit 
ou moururent les trois voyageurs. II demande aussi 
son camarade. La personne qu'il demande est a 
Paris. Voila un malheur. Voyez cette personne 
passant par la, c'est un philosophe. Voila un 
voyageur de Paris. Voyez cet endroit-la. Voila 
un malheur. Voici un autre malheur. Voici un 
voyageur. Voila un autre voyageur. Cette perr 
sonne-la est semblable a cette personne-ci. Ce 
philosophe-ci est semblable a celui-la. Quel 



66 READING. 

malheur ! Que de malheurs ! Quelles richesses ! 
Quel philosophe ! Que de voyageurs ! Que de 
monde ! Que de manieres ! Quel endroit ! Voila 
des richesses ! Un des voyageurs dit a 1'autre : nous 
avons faim, et il faut avoir de quoi manger, qu'un 
de nous aille acheter de la viande. 

Est-ce un malheur d'avoir des richesses? dirent deux 
voyageurs qui moururent de faim. Un philosophe, 
passant a Fendroit ou les deux voyageurs mangeaient 
leur camarade, dit voila une maniere defaire un repas. 
Les trois voyageurs dirent que leurs deux camarades 
moururent apres avoir empotsonne un philosophe. 
Nous avons du malheur dirent deux voyageurs qui 
trouverent un philosophe dans leur chemin. II faut 
avoir de quoi manger dit un philosophe apres avoir 
Un* son camarade. Nous avons de quoi manger 
dirent les deux voyageurs quand ils trouverent la 
viande empoisonnee. Nous voila empoisonnes ! 
dirent les deux voyageurs apres avoir mange la 
viande. Que de richesses nous avons ! dirent les 
trois voyageurs quand ils trouverent le tresor. Nous 
avons faim, dirent deux personnes quand ils mange- 
rent leur camarades. Nous avons un tresor, dirent 
deux personnes quand ils trouverent un philosophe. 
Qu 'est-ce que Les richesses? dit un passant, voila 
trois voyageurs qui trouverent un tresor ct moururent 
de (aim apres. Le monde a traite* les trois voyageurs 
de maniere qu'ils moururent tous les trois. Voila 
une maniere de faire dit an philosophe quand le 
voyageur rait du poison dans la viande qu'il avait 
apporte*e a manger. II faut manger, dirent les deux 
voyageurs quand ils mangerent leur camarade. 
Nous voila maltres du tresor! dirent les deux 
voyageurs apivs avoir tin- leur camarade. 



67 
READING. 



Instead of giving a fresh portion of text, we shall make what 
we have already given the subject of the present lesson. A 
few words well known, and a few leading principles thoroughly 
understood and firmly established on the memory, will be of 
more use to the learner than a vagrant notion of twenty times 
the number. The following is the text constituting the 
preceding lessons, united under one head, and with which 
the learner ought now to be quite as familiar as with his 
paternoster. 

LES VOYAGEURS AVIDES. 

Trois voyageurs trouverent un tresor dans leur 
chemin, et dirent, " nous avons faim, qu'un de nous 
aille acheter de quoi manger," un d'eux se detacha 
et alia dans l'intention de leur apporter de quoi faire 
un repas. 

Mais chemin faisant, il dit en lui-meme, il faut que 
j'empoisonne la viande afin que mes deux camarades 
meurent en la mangeant, et que je jouisse du tresor 
moi seul. II executa son dessein, et mit du poison 
dans ce qu'il avait apporte a manger. 

Mais les deux autres qui avaient con^u un sem- 
blable dessein contre lui pendant son absence, l'assas- 
sinerent a son retour, et demeurerent les maitres du 
tresor. Apres l'avoir tue ils mangerent de la viande 
empoisonnee et moururent aussi tous deux. 

Un "philosophe passant par cet endroit-la, dit, voila, 
quel est le monde ! Voyez de quelle maniere il a 
traite ces trois personnes. Malheur a celui qui lui 
demande des richesses. 

f2 



68 



CONVERSATION. 



In addition to the words already introduced under this head, 
we shall in the present colloquial exercise make use of the 
following new ones. 

Mesdemoiselles, young ladies, pronounced mtd-ma~zel. 
Y there, „ e 

(of it, or of them,') 
En < about it or about I „ eng 

[ them, J 

On one „ ong 

From the translation we have already given in the text, of 
the word dit, the learner will be aware that on dit is word for 
word one sags, but in translating a sentence he should not rest 
satisfied with a mere literal translation of the words, he should 
see whether some other English expression will not bring out 
the sense of the context with greater clearness. The sentence 
011 dit is very much used in French, and the literal translation 
one says is scarcely English ; some other kind of phraseology 
must therefore be employed in English in cases where on dit 
is employed in French, ami it is the business of the learner to 
find these out. The other words of the phrase will generally 
suggest how on dit should be translated. The expressions 
thrg sag, people sag, it is said, will be frequently found the 
actual English equivalents for on dit. In the same way the 
learner will be aware that the phrase on avait apporte de la 
viande, is word for word one hud brought of the meat, but a 
moderate exertion of intelligence will suggest " some meat 
had been brought," M the English translation of this phrase. 
When the words of a sentence are known, the learner should 
exercise his ingenuity in supplying the English for the French 
construction; by this means facility and accuracy in translation 
will eventually be acquired. We shall introduce abundantly 
tin- pronoun on in the following colloquy, in order to familiarise 
the learner with the use of the word, and habituate him to rely 
upon his own judgment in making English of an expression 
wherein it occurs. 



CONVERSATION. 69 

The foregoing remarks are also applicable to the pronoun 
y, there ; and to en, of them, or, of it ; both of which are of 
very common occurrence in French. The word en has already 
appeared in the text, but in that case it is equivalent to the 
English word in. En has two perfectly distinct significations ; 
in one case it is a form of the Latin preposition in, and in the 
other is a contraction of the Latin word inde : in the first case 
it is equivalent to the English preposition in, and in the 
second it is a pronoun, and will have to be rendered by 
one or other of the expressions we have pointed out. The 
intelligent learner will always be able to judge by the words 
of the context whether en is a preposition or a pronoun, and it 
will be necessary for him to pay attention to this distinction in 
translating the word. We have said that y is equivalent to 
the English word there. The y is used exactly as the word 
there, in all cases where there indicates a place, with this 
difference, that y is always placed before a verb, whereas there 
is usually placed after one. Besides the common use of the y, 
in such phrases as il y etait, he was there, an idiomatic use is 
made of the word, that requires to be noticed here. The 
French, to signify what is meant in English by the expression 
there was, say, it there had, il y avait ; and in asking such a 
question as, was there so and so ? say there had it so and so ? 
y avait-il so and so ? This idiomatic construction will have to 
be borne in mind in going over the following exercise. The 
words, y, en, and on, being much employed in French, it is 
necessary that their use and value be well understood. We 
have introduced them abundantly in our present colloquial 
exercise,' because the subject of conversation being known, 
and all the other words, the learner will very easily find out 
the meaning of these three, and thus he will be able to detect 
for himself the principle that determines their use. A careful 
observation of the application we shall make of the en's, y's, 
and orc's, will greatly facilitate the learner in reading a French 
author, and will pave the way to a clear perception of the 
genius of the language. 



70 



CONVERSATION. 



Dit-on que les trois voyageurs 
moururent a Paris ? 

Dit-on qu'ils assassinerent un 
philosophe ? 

Dit-on qu'ils avaient empoi- 
sonne leur camarade? 

Les voyageurs mangerent-ils 
de la viande empoison- 
nee? 

Enf moururent-ils? 

Qu'en dit un philosophe? . . 

Que trouverent les trois voya- 
geurs dans le chemin ? 
Qu'en dit Fun d'eux? . . . 

Combien des voyageurs y 
avait-il en chemin ? 

Y avait-il d'autres personnes ? 

Y avait-il un tresor dans 1c 

chemin ? 

Y avait-il de quoi manger dans 

Le chemin? 

Y avait-il de la viande dans 

ce qu'en avait apport£? 
Dans quoi y avait-il du poison? 



De quoi mangercnt les voya- 
geurs? 

Y avait-il du poison dans ce 

qu'ils avaient mange' ? 
On dit-on qu'ils demean rent ? 

Y trouvtrent-ils de quoi man- 

ger? 

Y trouverent-ils un camarade ? 
Qu'y trouvcrent-ils .... 



Non, Mesdemoiselles,* on dit 

q'ils moururent dans le 

chemin. 
Non, Mesdemoiselles, mais on 

dit qu'ils assassinerent 

leur camarade. 
Non, Mesdemoiselles. 

Oui, ils en mangerent. 



Oui, ils en moururent. 

II dit, voila comment le monde 

a traite ces personnes 
Ils y trouverent un tresor. 

II dit, il faut que j'en jouisse 

seul. 
Trois. 

II y avait aussi un philosophe. 
Oui, il y en avait un. 

Non, mais on en avait apportc. 

Oui, il yen avait. 

II y en avait dans la viande 
qu'un de voyageurs avait 
apportee pour manger. 

Ils mangerent de la viande. 

Oui, il y en avait. 

On dit qu'ils demeurerent 

dans le chemin. 
Non, Mesdemoiselles. 

Non, Mesdemoiselles. 
Ils y trouverent un tresor. 



• In addressing young ladies the compliment MeademoMlM is thraya 

employed in French. 

f It will be observed that rri will be lure better translated by in const- 

quence }f thai, than by its simple equivalent of it. 



CONVERSATION. 



71 



Qu'y dirent-ils ? 



Qui y assassinerent-ils ? . . 

Qu'y mangerent-ils ? . . . 
Dit-on qu'ils y moururent? . 
Dit-on qu'ils moururent de 
faim? 



Qu'avaient les trois voyageurs 

en chemin? 
Qu'en dirent-ils? . . 

S'en detacha-t-il un dans cette 
intention? 

Alla-t-il acheter de la viande? 

Dit-on qu'il avait apporte de 
la viande ? 

Avait-il du poison ? 

Mit-il du poison dans la vi- 
ande? 

Pourquoi? 

Combien de camarades avait- 
il? 

Avait-on empoisonne les trois 
voyageurs? 

Avait-on un tremor? . . . 



Alla-t-on acheter de quoi man- 
ger? 

Alla-t-on acheter de la viande? 

Alla-t-on manger un philo- 
sophe? 

Alla-t-on a Paris? .... 

Dit-on que les trois voyageurs 
demeurerent a, Paris? 

Dit-on que les trois voyageurs 
mangerent un philosophe? 



lis dirent: nous avons faim, 
qu'un de nous aille ache- 
ter de quoi manger. 

lis y assassinerent un de leurs 
camarades. 

lis y mangerent de la viande. 

Oui, on dit cela. 

Non, il y en eut un de tue et 
les deux autres mouru- 
rent en mangeant de la 
viande empoisonnee. 

lis avaient faim. 

lis dirent, qu'un de nous aille 
acheter de quoi manger. 
Oui, un d'eux se detacha. 

Oui, il alia en acheter. 

Oui, on dit qu'il en avait 

apportee. 
Oui, il en avait. 
Oui, il en mit. 

Afin que ses camarades mou- 

russent en la mangeant. 
II en avait deux. 

Non, Mesdemoiselles, 

Oui Mesdemoiselles, les trois 
voyageurs en trouverent 
un dans le chemin. 

Oui, on y* alia. 

Oui, on y alia. 

Mais non, Mesdemoiselles. 

Non, Mesdemoiselles. 
Non, Mesdemoiselles. 

Mais non, Mesdemoiselles. 



* It will be observed that y here has rather the significati on of for that 
purpose, than its primitive signification there. 



72 



CONVERSATION. 



Que dit-on qu'ils mangerent? On dit que les voyageurs 

mangerent de la viande. 
Dit-on que le philosophe avait Non, mais on dit qu'un de 
mis du poison dans la leurs camarades l'avait 

viande? empoisonnee. 

Avait-on faim? Oui, les trois voyageurs avaient 

faim. 



quoi 



Avait-on apporte de 

manger? 
Avait-on assassine un voya- 

geur? 

Avait-on tue~ un philosophe? . 
Comment le monde a-t-il traite 

les trois voyageurs? 
Qu'en dit un philosophe? . . 



En quel endroit dit-il ccla ? . 
Executa-t-on an dessein? 
Quel dcssein exccuta-t-il? 
Comment l'exccuta-t-il? . . 
l!n mangea-t-il lui-mcme? . 

Pendant son absence <>u de- 

meurerent les deux autrcs? 
Qoand il appOfta la viande 

empoisonnee qni en 
mangea? 
En moururent-ils ? . . . . 

Les trois voyageurs mount i en t- 
ils tons ? 

Ou moururent les trois voya- 
geurs ? 



Oui, le voyageur qui se de- 
tacha en avait apporte. 

Oui,lesdeuxvoyageursavaient 
assassine un de leurs 
camarades. 

Non, Mesdemoiselles. 

De maniere qu'ils moururent 
tous les trois. 

II en dit, voila, quel est le 
monde ! voyez de quelle 
maniere il a traite ces 
trois personnes. Mal- 
heur a celui qui lui 
demande des richesses. 

Dans I'endroit ou moururent 
les trois voyageurs. 

Oui, le voyageur avait execute* 
son dessein. 

Le dessein d'assassiner ses 
camarades. 

II acfaeta de la viande etymit 
du poison. 

Non, il apporta le tout a Kt 
camarades. 

Ils demcurerent en chcmin. 

Ses deux camarades. 



Oui, ils moururcntapresl'avoir 

mangle. 
Oui] ils moururent tons. 

Dans I'endroit ou ils trou- 
verent \o tresor. 



73 



CONSTRUCTION. 

XX. 

Trois voyageurs trouverent Three travellers found a 
un tresor. treasure. 

lis dirent They said. 

lis meurent They may die. 

lis l'assassinerewf . . . They assassinated him. 

lis demeurererc* .... They remained 

lis mangerewf They ate. 

lis moururent They died. 

It will be observed that these verbs are all of the third 
person plural, that they all end in ent; and if the learner has 
been attending to the pronunciation, he will be aware that this 
ent is not pronounced in any of them. If we inquire whence 
comes this ent, and wherefore it is not pronounced, we must go 
back a century or two in the history of the language in order 
to find the cause. In the Latin language, of which French is 
nothing more than a barbarous dialect, the third person plural 
of all tenses of verbs end in ent, or nt preceded by some other 
vowel: this ent in Latin is equivalent to the English pronoun 
they, and to the French Us. The Franks, when they got 
possession of Gaul, preferred expressing themselves when 
speaking in the third person, by a pronoun, and as they do not 
appear to have paid the smallest respect to Latin grammar 
dropped the ent altogether, having found that they could make 
themselves perfectly well understood without it. The Latin 
termination however continued to exist in the written language 
even although its equivalent Us had been introduced, and thus 
a solecism was created, and exists in the language. 

It may be some consolation for an Englishman to know, 
that whilst his own language is yet in a state demi-savage, 
there are also barbarisms in languages that boast a higher 
degree of civilization. The French cannot, any more than the 
English, declare itself an independent language, it is still a 
"motley clown," one half belonging to the transalpine con- 
querors of Gaul, and the other half to the Goths and Vandals 



74 CONSTRUCTION. 

from beyond the Rhine. From the one it has got its personal 
endings, and from the other the habit of using subsidiary 
words; in continuing to use both in defiance of logic and 
grammatical analogy, the French only perpetuate a monument 
of their double subserviency. 

The learner must bear in mind that though ent is written at 
the end of all the third persons plural of verbs, it is never 
pronounced. 

XXI. 

FORMATION OF A NEGATION. 

The English negative particle not is rendered in French by 
the two words ne and pas, the ne being placed before the word 
negatived, and the pas after it; in this way the affirmative, 
ils trouverent un tresor, they found a treasure, forms the 
negative, ils ne trouverent pas de tresor, they did not Jind a 
treasure; and so in the case of all other negatives. 

When ne comes before a word beginning with a vowel, the t 
is elided, as from the affirmative e'est, it is, is formed the negative 

Ce n'est pas it is not. 

Id asking a question with a negative, the ne is then placed 
hi fore the simple interrogation itself, and the pas at the end 
of it; as from the interrogation est-ce? is it? is formed the 
negative interrogation 

N'est-ce pas? is it not? 

We may here observe that this particular interrogation, this 
a'est-ce pas (pronounced iics-jh/), is very often used in asking 
questions. It is of universal application, and on being put to 
the end of any affirmative forms an interrogative. 

The following examples will shew the use and application of 
n'est-ce pas: 

Vooj avez le tresor 7i'est-ce You have the treasure, have 
patf you not? 

Nous avons faim, n'est-ce pas% We are hungry, arc ire not? 

Ils mangerent leur camarade. They ate their companion, t/irf 
n'est-ce pus? they not? 

II alia a Paris, n'est-ce j»as? . He went to Paris, did he not? 



CONSTRUCTION. 75 

We shall introduce a series of negatives under the head 
Composition, for the practice of the learner in their construc- 
tion. 

XXII. 

lis demeurerent les maitres They remained masters of the 
du trcsor. treasure. 

In English the use of the definite article the is subject to 
greater exactitude than in French; the is only used in English 
when some special object or objects are alluded to; but in 
French, as may be observed by the phrase before us, the defi- 
nite article is used even although no definition is signified. 
"When the two travellers killed their companion they remained 
masters of the treasure;" there is certainly no necessity for 
saying here, "they remained the masters of the treasure." In 
French however an article of some kind or other is used before 
almost every noun ; this appears to be done in order more to 
point out its gender than to serve any other purpose. We have 
already said (§ ix.) that nouns sometimes have a different 
meaning when they have the feminine article la before them, 
than when they are distinguished by the masculine article; 
hence the article is used in French in many instances where 
it is totally unnecessary as an instrument of definition, and 
consequently would not be employed in English. In most of 
the French grammars we have seen, a large portion is taken 
up explaining the use of the article in French, in which the 
authors generally contrive to embarrass themselves, and create 
a complication of difficulties where there is absolutely nothing 
but the utmost simplicity, the article being used in French 
on all occasions that it possibly can be used. We have seen 
a large octavo volume written on this one subject, and we 
think the author merits the pillory for his pains; not only 
because he has thereby confounded and misled all his brother 
grammarians, but because he has led people who have no 
means of knowing better, to suppose that there is a difficulty 
where none exists, and so to waste, in hunting after a shadow, 
the time that might be profitably employed. 



70 



PRONUNCIATION, 



There are in French, as in English, the five vowels — a, e, i, 
o, u. Of these we have already given (page 29, lesson second) 
the pronunciation of the u; and page 45, lesson third, that of 
the e. The other three are pronounced in French as follows: 

a is pronounced like a in the English word part. 
i „ ee „ seen. 

o „ o „ stone. 

Besides these, there is the letter y, usually considered in 
both languages to be a vowel. Y is pronounced in French 
exactly like the t, that is, like ee in the English word seen; 
but when y occurs between two vowels, it then becomes 
equivalent to two ?'s ; for example, the word voyageurs is 
pronounced as if written vuiiageurs ; the first of the i's in 
conjunction with the o forms the diphthong oi, pronounced as 
we have said wa, and the second i having its own sound makes 
up the pronunciation (ira-cr-a-s/tair) we have given of the word 
in the text. Each of the English vowels has two or three 
sounds, some of which are enjoyed in common by all the five, 
but no such confusion exists in the French language. Each 
of the French vowels has the one particular sound we have 
assigned to it, which must always be given to it in order that 
the word in which it occurs may be intelligibly pronounced. 
Nothing therefore can be more easily attained than a correct 
pronunciation of the French vowels, and yet we know that it 
is frequently a long time before the learner accomplishes this 
part of his task. We have said that the letter a ha9 the sound 
of a in the English word part, but this is not the most com- 
mon English sound of that vowel. An Englishman, when he 
meets with an a in a word whose pronunciation he is unac- 
quainted with, will naturally give it the sound of a in made. 
The French a never has, under any circumstances, such a 
sound; and if this sound be given to the a, the meaning of the 



PRONUNCIATION. 77 

word in which it is so pronounced will be totally obscured. 
These remarks are applicable to the other vowels. The 
natural predilections of the learner will lead him to pronounce 
them all inaccurately, he must therefore endeavour to associate 
the French vowels with their French sounds. To effect this, 
he should again go over the words of the text, and pronounce 
all the a's that do not form a part of one or other of the five 
diphthongs, like a in the English words part, start, dart; all 
the i's like ee in the English words seen, been,: green; all the 
o's like o in stone, gone, bone. This exercise will serve to 
impress on the memory a fixed notion of the sounds peculiar 
to the French vowels, that will be of the greatest use to him 
in his future intercourse with the language. 

CONSONANTS. 

Singles. 

With the following five exceptions, and the nasal sound 
given to the m and n already spoken of, the consonants are 
pronounced in French precisely as they are in English. 

1st. The letter g in French before i, e, and y, is pronounced 
like the z in azure, as voyageur, pronounced voyazhair. The 
letter j is always so pronounced, as jour, day, pronounced 
zhoor. The learner is requested to pay attention to these 
sounds of the j and g, as these letters are pronounced in 
English in a very different manner. 

2nd. When s or x occur between two vowels, they are 
pronounced in French like z in the English word zone, as 
empoisotmer, to poison, pronounced empoizonne. 

3rd. The letter t before i is generally pronounced like s, as 
in the word intention, pronounced in-ten-see-on. 

4th. The letter r has always the vibrating sound er-r-r of 
the English word term. 

5th. The letters gu are pronounced like g in the English 
word get, as in the word guerre, war, pronounced ger, giving 
the g the hard sound. And in the same way qu are pronounced 
like k, as in the word qui, who, pronounced kee; quel, what, 
pronounced kel; question, pronounced kes-tee-on, etc. 



78 PRONUNCIATION. 

These five observations should be read over two or three 
times, so that they may be well fixed on the memory, as they 
are essential to a correct pronunciation. 

The most marked feature in the pronunciation of French is, 
that a consonant at the end of a word is silent. No final 
consonants are pronounced except r, which is also silent at the 
end of manger, to eat, pronounced mange; tuer, to kill, pro- 
nounced tue, and other infinitives of the first conjugation. 
This peculiarity presents little difficulty, the learner has only 
to cut off the concluding consonant of each word before 
pronouncing it; thus he will pronounce trois, triva, voyageurs, 
wa-ee-a-geur, and so with all other words ending in a conso- 
nant.* When, however, there is a close connexion between 
two words, such as exists between a verb and its pronoun, one 
of which ends in a consonant and the other begins with a 
vowel, the final consonant is then pronounced with the vowel 
that follows it; as, 

Nous avons pronounced noo-zavo/t. 

Faut-il „ fo-teel. 

Son absence „ so- nab-sens. 

We have already remarked, under the head Const ruction, 
§ xx., that nit of the third persons plural of verbs is also 
silent; the / when followed by a vowel is however enunciated, 
as mangbrent-iUf pronounced manger-teel. This will be better 
understood by referring to Construction, § 71. 

Dollhh'S. 

Besides the sounds represented by the single consonants, 

there are two others Uied in French, represented by double 

Consonants, these are the liquid u(j and the / mouille. When 

u r between two vowels, these letters arc pronounced 

like mj in English ! :i-. 

La campagne pronounced la cam-pan-ye. 
Boulogne ,, Boo-lon-ye. 

enunciating the ye very slightly. When two //'s occur after i, 

• There ure a few words of which tin- final consonant is pronounced : these 

tin- student will become acquainted witli as lie progresses in the language. 



COMPOSITION. 



79 



followed by another vowel, they are pronounced like y, as in 
the wordjille, girl, pronouncedyee-ye. In conclusion, we may 
add, that if the learner has followed up attentively what we 
have said in this and the four preceding lessons, he is now 
capable, so far as the pronunciation is concerned, of reading 
French. There are here and there exceptions to the rules we 
have laid down, but these will become known to the learner 
as he proceeds. Once familiar with the broad principles and 
leading features of the pronunciation of a language, and the 
minute detail will be no obstacle; the learner's own observation 
and judgment will tell him when a rule may be judiciously 
departed from. 

COMPOSITION. 



The traveller is not at Paris. 

Is he not in France? 

No, he is not in France. 

Where is the treasure? 

Is it not on the road? 

No, it is not there. 

The philosopher is not rich. 

Has he not the treasure? 

No, he has not the treasure. 

The masters of the treasure 
had nothing to eat. 

Had they no meat? 

No, they had none. 

You have (vous avez). 

You have eaten your com- 
panion, have you not? 

You have killed a philosopher, 
have you not? 

You have the treasure, have 
you not? 

You are hungry, are you not? 

You have wherewithal to eat, 
have you not? 

Have you nothing to eat? 

Are you not hungry? 

Have you not the treasure ? 

Have you not the meat ? 

The travellers did not find a 
treasure. 



They did not eat their com- 
panion. 

They did not poison any other 
traveller. 

They did not bring anything 
, to eat. 

They did not go to Paris. 

They did not pass into France. 

The did not live on the road. 

They did not buy any meat. 

They did not kill any philo- 
sopher. 

They did not assassinate any 
one. 

They did not seek riches. 

They did not execute their 
intention. 

They did not separate them- 
selves. 

They did not die. 

They did not conceive a de- 
sign. 

They did not say we are 
hungry. 

They did not enjoy the trea- 
sure. 

They did not put any poison 
in the meat. 

They did not make any repast 



eo 



COMPOSITION. 



They did not see any philo- 
sopher. 

The traveller did not find a 
treasure. 

He did not eat his companion. 

He did not poison any other 
traveller. 

He did not bring anything to 
eat. 

He did not go to Paris. 

He did not go into France. 

He did not remain on the 
road. 

He did not buy any meat. 

He did not kill a philosopher. 

He did not assassinate any- 
body. 

He did not seek for riches. 

He did not execute his inten- 
tion. 

He did not separate himself 
from his companions. 

He did not die. 

He did not conceive a design. 

He did not say that a philo- 
sopher is an evil. 

He did not put any poison in 
the meat. 

He did not enjoy the treasure. 



He did not see any other 

traveller. 
He did not make a repast. 
No one found a treasure on 

the road. 
No one brought any meat 

there. 
No one ate any. 
No one bought any 
No one lived on the' road. 
No one killed a philosopher 

there. 
No one assassinated a traveller 

there. 
No one executed an intention 

there. 
Were the three travellers not 

eaten ? 
No, they were not eaten. 
They are dead (ils sont 

morts), are they not? 
Yes, they are dead. 
That is a pity, is it not? 
Yes, it is a pity. 
Are all the three travellers 

dead? 
Yes, they are all dead. 
Good-bye (adieu) to the three 

travellers. 



THE FRENCH LANGUAGE. 



LESSON SIXTH. 

READING. 

REPETITION. 

Le voyageur n'est pas a Paris. Est-ce qu'il n'est 
pas en France? Non, il n'est pas en France. Ou 
est le tresor? N'est-ce pas dans le chemin? Non, 
ce n'est pas la. Le philosophe n'a pas de richesses. 
N'a-t-il pas le tresor? Non, il n'a pas le tresor. 
Les maitres du tresor n'avaient pas de quoi manger. 
N'avaient-ils pas de viande? Non, ils n'en avaient 
pas. Vous avez. Vous avez mange votre camarade, 
n'est-ce pas? Vous avez tue un philosophe, n'est-ce 
pas? Vous avez le tresor, n'est-ce pas? Vous avez 
faim, n'est-ce pas? Vous avez de quoi manger, n'est- 
ce pas? N'avez-vous pas de quoi manger? N'avez- 
vous pas faim? N'avez-vous pas le tresor? N'avez- 
vous pas de viande? Les voyageurs ne trouverent 
pas un tresor. Ils ne mangerent pas leur camarade. 
Ils n'empoisonnerent pas d'autre voyageur. Ils 
n'apporterent pas de quoi manger. Ils n'allerent 
pas a Paris. Ils ne passerent pas en France. Ils ne 
demeurerent pas dans le chemin. Ils n'acheterent 
pas de viande. Ils ne tuerent pas de philosophe. 
Ils n'assassinerent personne. lis ne demanderenr, 



82 READING. 

pas de richesses. Us n'executerent pas leur intention. 
Jls ne se detacherent pas les uns des autres. lis ne 
moururent pas. lis ne concurent pas un dessein. 
lis ne dirent pas nous avons faim. lis ne jouirent 
pas du tresor. lis ne mirent pas de poison dans la 
viande. lis ne firent pas de repas. lis ne virent pas 
de philosophe. Le voyageur ne trouva pas un tresor. 
II ne mangea pas son camarade. II n'empoisonna 
pas d'autre voyageur. II n'apporta pas de quoi 
manger. II n'alla pas a. Paris. II ne passa pas en 
France. II ne demeura pas dans le chemin. II 
n'acheta pas de viande. II ne tua pas un philosophe. 
II n'assassina personne. 1\ ne demanda pas de 
richesses, II n'executa pas son intention. II ne se 
detacha pas de ses camarades. II ne mourut pas. 
II ne concut pas un dessein. II ne dit pas qu'un 
philosophe est un mallieur. II ne mit pas de poison 
dans la viande. II ne jouit pas du tresor. II ne vit 
pas d'autre voyageur. II ne fit pas de repas. On 
n'a pas trouve un tresor dans le chemin. On n'y a 
pas apporte de viande. On n'en a pas mange. On 
n'en a pas achete. On n'est pas demeure dans le 
chemin. On n'y a pas tue de philosophe. On n'y a 
pas assassine de voyageur. On n'y a pas execute de 
dessein. Est ce qu'on n'a pas mange les trois voya- 
geurs? Non, on ne les a pas mange. lis sont morts, 
n'est-ce pas? Oui, ils sont morts. C'est un mainour, 
n'est-ce pas? Oui, c'est un malheur. Est ce que 
tous les voyageurs sont morts? Oui, ils sont morts 
tous. Adieu, aux trois voyageurs. 



8.'3 
READING. 

IDIOMS. 

An acquaintance with a few of the common-place phrases 
of every-day use will be found of considerable utility to the 
student of a modern language. These phrases, in general, 
involve the most idiomatic constructions of the language, and 
may aid the learner in comprehending other expressions of a 
similar nature, but of less frequent occurrence. Besides, if the 
learner has any intercourse at all with persons who speak the 
language, he will hear these phrases so often repeated that they 
cannot fail of becoming familiar to his ear, and so he will ulti- 
mately arrive at understanding a part at least of what is said. 
To charge the mind, however, with a multitude of these phrases 
would not be advisable ; a single phrase, if properly handled, 
might be turned to as much account as a whole book of 
"Dialogues." Suppose, for example, the learner to put in 
French, to a native of France, the question " What do you call 
tkis in French," he might by this means elicit the whole voca- 
bulary of the language, and carry on a colloquy of as much 
practical utility as a more extended conversation. Again, 
supposing the learner on the other side of the Channel, the 

phrase " Which is the way to " would elicit an indefinite 

variety of reply that would be readily understood by the querist. 
The learner might in this manner get familiarised with the 
realities of the language, even whilst his knowledge of it 
were limited to the two phrases we have been speaking of. 
All the benefit that a beginner could possibly derive from a 
teacher is an early induction to the practice of a language, but 
how few teachers of French possess the art of making them- 
selves understood to their junior pupils in French ! Their 
lessons for the most part consist in illogical explanations, and 
commonly in so very bad English as to excite laughter — how 
the ear of the student can be familiarised with the French lan- 
guage by such means we cannot possibly conceive. We shall 
give for the present reading exercise a series of such familiar 
every-day expressions as we may consider most likely to be of 

g2 



84 INTRODUCTORY PHRASES. 

practical utility. Of these, we shall give the English equi- 
valents, together with the value of each individual word. 
There is no necessity for us giving the pronunciation of these 
phrases, as the learner who has carefully attended to our 
remarks in the preceding lessons, can now pronounce French 
perfectly well. We shall, however, point out any peculiarity 
in the pronunciation of the words that is not in accordance 
with the principles we have laid down. 

INTRODUCTORY PHRASES. 

Parlez*-vous Francais? . . Do you speak French? 

Un peu A little. 

Jecomprendsle Francais, mais I understood French, but do 
je ne le parle pas. not speak it. 

Vous£te8t Francais, je pense, You are a Frenchmen, I sup- 
Monsieur ? pose, Sir? 

Oui Monsieur, je le suis . . Yes Sir, I am. 

Combien de temps$ fites-vous How long have you been in 
reste en Angleterre?| England? 

Aimez-vom beauooup Lon- How do you like London ? 

<lres ! 

\'ons m'obligeriez si vous me You will oblige me if you 
parlies Francais. speak French. 

Je vous oomprendfl parraite- 1 understand you perfectly 
mcnt bien. well. 

Bzcusez-moi 1 beg your pardon. 

• W'v have said that final consonants are aot pronounced; when the silent 
consonant is preceded by an unaccented t, that letter is pronounced at it 
written c, thus porta is pronounced as if written parli; aimen, as if written 
tiimr; n'jx/rr, ripetii ami o in all similar cs 

t The \n<t>1 inal, tin' unaccented not being pro- 

pounced; ites is pronounced as if written it. 

I When the litters j\ </. or t, occur after B nasal, they are usually silent, 

aa in the word comprendt pronounced comprang, /mips pronounced Um§, 

This is beeause these consonants cannot be easily pronounced after the 
naaaL It is for a similar reason that / is silent before /.-, in the English 

words walk, talk, etc. 

§ An unaccented < before two consonants is pronounced as if written a, 

;!etcrrc is pronounced as if written Anglclir ; if written 

ree-shes; and so on. 



INTRODUCTORY PHRASES. 85 

Je n'ai pas compris ce que vous I have not understood what 

m'avez dit. you have said. 

Seriez-vous assez bon pour Will you be kind enough to 

repeter ce que vous avez repeat what you have 

dit? said? 

Fumez-vous? ..... Do you smoke? 

Voulez-vous un cigare? . . Will you have a cigar? 

Avec plaisir With pleasure. 

Merci Thank you 

RECOGNITORY. 

Bon jour, Monsieur . . . Good morning, Sir. 

Comment vous portez-vous? . How do you do? 

Assez bien, et vous? . . . Pretty well thank you. 

Je suis charme de vous voir . I am delighted to see you. 

II fait une superbe matinee . It is a beautiful morning. 

II fait vraiment chaud* . . It is excessively warm. 

II fait beau depuis quelques The weather has been very 

jours. fine for some time. 

C'est vrai It is true. 

Y a-t-il quelque chose de Is there anything new? 

nouveau? 

Rien, que je sache .... Nothing that I know. 

Quand viendrez-vous me voir? When are you coming to see 

me? 

Un de ces jours One of these days. 

Messieurs, je vous souhaite le Gentlemen, I wish you a very 

bon soir. good evening. 

Adieu, Messieurs .... Good-bye, Gentlemen. 



Quelle heure est-il? . . . What o'clock is it? 
A peu pr&s huit heuresf . . About eight. 
Est-ce bien vrai? .... Is it true? 



* Ch in French, is, except in a few words derived from the Greek, pro- 
nounced like sh, thus the words charme is pronounced as if written sharme; 
chaud, sho. 

f An s added to a word to indicate the plural number does not affect in 
any way its pronunciation — heure, hour, and heures, hours, are pronounced 
exactly in the same manner; the learner must take care always to pronounce 
a plural word by its singular form. 



86 INTRODUCTORY PHRASES. 

Je le pense I think so. 

Je suis occupe I am busy. 

J'ai tort I am wrong. 

Vous avez raison .... You are right. 

Precisement Exactly. 

Monsieur, ayez la bonte de Have the goodness to tell me 

me dire sir 

Comment appelez-vous cela What do you call that in 

en Frangais? French? 

J'y suis I am coming. 

Quelle betise What nonsense. 

Que je suis bete .... What an ass I am. 

Cela est bon That is good. 

Je ne sais pas I do not know. 

Le croyez-vous? .... Do you think so? 

Oui, je le crois Yes, I do. 

ENGLISH GALLICISMS. 

A la Francaise After the French. 

Honi* soit qui mal y pense . Evil to him who evil thinks. 

Ditu ct mon Droit .... God and my right 

Cuisine bourgeoisef . . . Family cookery. • 

Table d'hote a cinq heures . An ordinary at five o'clock. 

Au bon gourmet .... Go to the good eater. 

Dejeuners n la fourchette . Beef-Steak breakfasts. 

F&te-champetre A pic-nic. 

Ici on parle Francais . . ■ French spoken here. 

Voulez-vous me donner la Can you change a five franc 

monnaie de cinq francs? piece? 

Que voulez-vous? .... What do you want? 

Comprenez-vous I'Anglais? . Do you understand English? 

Je ne park* pas Francais . . I d<> not speak French. 

Je suis Anglais I am an Englishman. 

Vive la reins God save the Queen. 

• The French like the English, have a natural abhorrence to aspirates and 
gutturals; for this reason, marly all the h'a in the language are silent, con- 
sequently when an // is followed by a vowel, the word is considered to begin 
a vowel, and the rule we have given (§ n.)> relative to elision of certain 
letters before words beginning with a vowel, is applicable to them also. 
There are however some words in the language, such as honi, of which the A 
is aspirated : these are usually written in italics in the Dictionaries, and should 
be committed to memory by the learner. 

t The e mute is inserted after the g in this word, to shew that the g is 
soft, just as an e is sometime! inserted after the g in the English word 
acknowledgement, for the same purpose. 



87 



TRANSLATION. 

The following is a literal translation of the phrases, giving 
the exact English equivalent for each French word contained 
in them. 

INTRODUCTORY PHRASES. 

Parlez-vous Francais? Un peu. Je comprends le 

Speak you French ? A little. I understand the 

Frangais, mais je ne le parle pas. Vous etes Francais, 
French, but I it speak not. You are French, 

je pense, Monsieur? Oui, Monsieur, je le suis. 
I think, Sir? Yes, Sir, I it am. 

Combien de temps £tes-vous reste en Angleterre? 
How much of time are you rested in England? 

Aimez-vous beaucoup Londres ? Vous m'obligeriez, si 

Love you much London ? You me would oblige, if 

vous me parliez Francais. Je vous comprends 

you to me speak French. I you understand 

parfaitement bien. Excusez-moi. Je n'ai pas compris 

perfectly well. Excuse me. I have not understood 

ce que vous m'avez dit. Seriez-vous assez bon pour 

what you to me have said. Would be you enough good for 

repeter ce que vous avez dit? Fumez-vous? Voulez- 

to repeat what you have said ? Smoke you ? Will (have) 

vous un cigare ? Avec plaisir. Merci. 
you a cigar? with pleasure. Thanks. 

RECOGNITORY. 

Bon jour, Monsieur. Comment vous portez-vous? 

Good day, Sir. How yourself carry you? 

Assez bien, et vous ? Je suis charme de vous voir. 
Enough well, and you? 1 am charmed of you to see 

II fait une superbe matinee. II fait vraiment 
It makes (is) a superb morning. It makes (is) truly 

chaud. II fait beau depuis quelques jours. C'est 
warm. It makes fine for some days. That is 



TRANSLATION. 



vrai. Y a-t-il quelque chose de nouveau? Rien, 

true. There has it (is there) any thing of new ? Nothing 

que je sache. Quand viendrez-vous me voir? Un 

that I know. When will come you me to see ? One 

de ces jours. Messieurs, je vous souhaite le bon 

of these days. Gentlemen, I you wish the good 

soir. Adieu, Messieurs, 
evening. Adieu, Gentlemen. 



GENERAL. 



est-i 

is it i 



vrai 



A peu 

Almost 

Je le pense. 
I it think. 



Quelle heure 
What hour 

Est-ce bien 
Is that well (von) true 

J'ai tort. Vous avez raison. 

I have (am) wronp. You have right 

aye/ la bonte de me dire. 
the goodness of 

en Francois? 

in French .' 

bite 

hi ;i>t. 



gs li nit heures. 

eight ' hours. 

Je suis occupe. 
I am husy. 

Monsieur, 
Sir, 



have 

eel a 
thai 

je suis 

I am 



to mo to tell 

J' y 

i 



Ccla 
Thai 



there 

est 



Le croyez-vous ? 

It believe you .' 



Oui, 



SUIS. 

am. 

bon. 
good. 

le crois. 

it believe, 



Precise in ent. 

Exactly. 

Comment appele/.-vous 
How call you 

Quelle betise. 

nonsense 
ne 



What 
Je 

I 



Que 

What 



sais 
know 



pas. 

not. 



i \i.l ISH GALLICISMS, 

A la Francaise. Iloni soit qui 
To (after) the French. Ashamed be (he) who 

Diett et mon droit. Cuisine luuirgeoise 
God ami my right. Cookery 



mal y pense.* 

evil there thinks. 

Table 
bourgeoise.f Table 



d'hote a cinq henres. An bon gourmet. Dejeuners 

of guest at live hours. To the (go) good cater. Breakfasts 

• Fidt Order of the Garter. 

t This is one of the words that it is difficult to find an exact equivalent 
tor in English — its meaning, in the phrase befon us, however, is evident 

enough; it clearly indicates that the cookery ill question has all the exuber- 
ant. , without the refinement, of res in wbe. 



TRANSLATION. 



a la fourchette 

to (with) the fork. 

Francais. 
French. 



Fete-champetre. 
Holiday field. 



Ici on parle 
Here one speaks 



LOCAL. 



Madame 

Madam, 

salutations. 

salutations. 



j'ai 1'bonneur 

I have the honour 



de vous presenter mes 
of to you to present my 

Monsieur, veuillez recevoir les miennes. 
to receive the mine. 



Sir, will 

Est-ce la le chemin de Paris? Voulez-vous m'indiquer 
Is that there the road of Paris? Will you tome indicate 

la rue St. Honore? Combien la douzaine? Un franc.* 
the street St. Honor6? How much the dozen? A franc. 

lis sont chers. Voulez-vouz me donner la monnaie 
They are dear. Will you to me to give the change 

de cinq francs? Que voulez-vous? Comprenez-vous 
of five francs? What will you? Understand you 

1' Anglais? Je ne parle pas Francais. Je suis Anglais, 
the English ? I speak not French. I am English. 

Vive la reine. Garcon du cafe. Quels vins 
Live the queen. Waiter of the (some) coffee. What wines 

avez-vous? Apportez-moi une bouteille de Macon.f Un 
have you? Bring me a hottle of Macon. A 

petit verre de Cognac. Servez-moi des cotelettes de 

little glass of brandy. Bring me of the ribs of 

mouton. Donnez-moi une omelette.^ Monsieur, voulez- 
sheep. Give me an omelette. Sir, will 

vous me passer le pain, s'il vous plait, 
you to me pass the bread, if it to you pleases. 



* A franc is a current silver coin equivalent to 20 sous. 

f Macon is a wine similar in flavour to Burgundy, and is a vin ordinaire 
very commonly used in the restaurants and cafes of Paris. In price it varies 
from 7\d. to 15c?. a bottle. 

% Une omelette will generally be found the most satisfactory dish that can 
be had at a road-side auberge in France. 



90 
PRONUNCIATION. 

SUMMARY. 

Under this head, in the five preceding lessons, we have 
comprised all the leading principles of the pronunciation of 
the French language. In summing up our observations on 
this subject, we have to remark that there is an order to be 
followed in the pronunciation of the letters making up a word, 
that requires attention. In pronouncing a word it is usual to 
begin at the first letter, and to go on spelling the others in 
succession to the end; this process must, however, be slightly 
departed from in pronouncing the French words. We have 
said that there are certain combinations of letters used to 
represent single sounds, it follows therefore that the single 
letters composing these combinations must not be enunciated 
individually. Again, of these combinations the nasal sound 
takes the precedence in pronunciation of all others; for 
example, we have said that ai is pronounced like ai in the 
word paid, according to that rule the at of the word faun 
should be so pronounced; but this is not the ease, the im is of 
necessity nasal, and when the nasal syllable is deducted from 
the word /aim, the diphthong ai no longer exists, the syllable 
fa only remains, and the fa blending with the nasal im makes 
the pronunciation fin we have given of the word faim in the 
text. The nasal syllable must always in the same way go for 
its full value in a word, and it is only after the nasal syllable 
has been allowed its rights, that the other letter! can claim 
theirs. We may here remind the learner, that m and ■ are 
pronounced exactly as in Bnglish, when followed by another 
Bl or 71, or a vowel, as in the words, honneur, honour, fumer, to 
tmoke; but under all other circumstances these letters combine 
with the vowel that precedes, and form the nasal syllable. 
When more than one vowel occur in a syllable, the learner 
must see that they do not involve one or other of the five diph- 
thongs, before pronouncing them singly: in the word beaux, fine, 
for example, we have the diphthong an, which is pronounced ft, 



PRONUNCIATION. 91 

then the consonant x being final, and the e unaccented, the 
pronunciation of this word is in consequence simply bo. 

In conclusion, we have to say that, if the learner has followed 
up our instructions attentively, he is capable of pronouncing 
French correctly; he will be more or less accurate, according 
to the degree of stability the different points illustrated have 
obtained upon his memory. The first of the series of phrases 
given as a reading exercise in the present lesson, is " Parlez- 
vous Francais?" — if our observations are fresh upon his memory 
the learner will know that p is one of the consonants pronounced 
in French as in English, that a has always the sound of a in 
the English word part, that r has always its vibrating sound, 
that / is another of the consonants pronounced as in English, 
that z being final is silent, and that in consequence the e mute 
preceding it is pronounced e; that v is pronounced as in 
English, that ou is one of the five diphthongs, that s being final 
and not followed by another word beginning with a vowel, is 
silent; that^}- are pronounced as in English, that an is one of 
the five nasals, that c with a cedilla is pronounced like s, that 
ai is one of the five diphthongs, and finally, that s, being final, 
is silent. Our observations providing for all the exigencies of 
pronunciation, with a very few uninimportant exceptions, the 
learner may in this way analyse all the words of the language, 
and by this process he will acquire more speedily, a much 
more accurate and an infinitely more permanent notion of the 
French pronunciation, than he could possibly obtain from a 
teacher. 

Any one wishing to have the French Alphabet, may 
construct one for himself, by taking an English A. B. C, 
striking out the w, and naming the letters all, bay, say, instead 
of ai, bee, see. This however can serve no useful purpose ; 
some advantage might be derived from constructing a table of 
the sounds, arranged in the order we have pointed out. This 
table should begin with the five nasals, as being the first 
sounds in order of importance in pronunciation, and should 
conclude with the observations we have given in the notes to 
the text of the present lesson. 



92 

HOW THE LEARNER SHOULD PROCEED. 

We have now given some general views of the construction 
of the French language. We have shewn how words being 
known, they may be made use of in practice. We have shewn 
how questions are put, and answered. We have explained 
the manner of expressing a negative, and we have exhibited 
the chief idiomatic difficulties of the language. We have also 
given such a view of the pronunciation, as will serve the 
learner for every practical purpose. He must now follow up 
our instructions by a diligent and careful course of reading; 
we would suggest for this purpose Gil Bias, which is by far 
the best author for the beginner's perusal, both as regards the 
style and the diction. Before however he can read this, he 
will require to make himself acquainted with the desinences 
of the French verb. We are sorry that the limits we have 
prescribed for our present course of lessons will not admit of 
our giving a satisfactory analysis of the verb. The learner 
must therefore in this matter have recourse to one or other of 
the common Grammars. He must make himself familiar with 
what are called the four regular conjugations, to one or other 
oi which series of formula most of the verbs in the language 

■ ire subject lie must then write twice over, in full, all the 
verbs that are not in accordance with either of these conjuga- 
tions. This done, with the aid of a good Dictionary, The 
learner will fu.d little difficulty in translating Gil Bias. He 
will very soon he aUe to dispense with the dictionary, and on 
arriving at this point his task will be well nigh accomplished; 
once able to read a French author, a month or two in France 
will do the rest We have spoken of nearly all the difficulties 
the self-instructor has to encounter, none "of them are of so 
formidable a character that a little intelligence will not suffice 
to overcome. We a that a little perseverance, 

I in the manner pointed out, will put tin- learner who 
■ ntivcly gone over on n (>{ - ., mm? 

accurate knowledge of the li • attained by 

persons who bm it by means of oral instruction. 

Printed by Manning »nd M««,„, It, , „ (i|C _ 



ROBERTSONIAN METHOD. 



COURSE OF LESSONS 



SPANISH LANGUAGE, 



INTENDED TO ENABLE PERSONS TO ACQUIRE THE LANGUAGE 
WITHOUT ORAL INSTRUCTION. 



BY A. H. MONTEITH, ESQ., 

HON. MEMB. OF THE V. Ii. C. 



THIRD EDITION. 



L OND ON: 
SAMUEL GILBERT, 51 & 52, PATERNOSTER-ROW ; 

AND SOLD BY 

JOHN FIELD, 65, REGENT'S QUADRANT. 

MDCCCXLIV. 



PAISLRY : 

mnrrra bv nmuon and murra* 



PREFACE. 



The object of the present Series of Lessons being to enable persons 
who may not have the aid of a master, to acquire some notions of 
the Spanish language ; the treatise will be of a perfectly elementary 
character, and will embrace only such features as are essential to 
an exact comprehension of the structure and genius of the language . 
The author, notwithstanding the popular dogma, that it is impos- 
sible to acquire a modern tongue without the aid of a master, hopes 
to enable the diligent student to become acquainted with the 
language of Castile without the aid of any kind of oral instruction 
whatever ; nay, he is satisfied that the learner who has assiduously 
gone through the exercises of the first lesson of the present series, 
will know more about the language than many who have been 
under a master for upwards of twelve months. 

The plan pursued in the construction and arrangement of these 
exercises, is that of Mr. Robertson of Paris. The principle of this 
method is to introduce the learner to a general view of a language 
before he is led to a consideration of its minutiae — to teach a few 
words at a time, but so to fix them upon the understanding that 
they may be always at command, and ready for use when wanted. 
Whilst the author adopts the method of Mr. Robertson as his model, 
he will introduce any new feature his own experience may suggest 
as likely to facilitate the learner in acquiring the language. 

Each lesson will consist of an extract from some Spanish writer, 
each word of which will be fully explained, both as it regards its 
pronunciation and etymology, and the entire passage will be sub- 
jected to a thorough analysis, and made to exhibit the structure and 



genius of the language. By these means a little will be taught at 
once, but that little well, which will be found in the end to be the 
mode of procedure most profitable for the student. 

To those who have studied a modern language by the usual 
routine, the plan of our method is especially submitted : they have 
experienced the ennui of the continued series of declension and con- 
jugation dictated by onr common elementary books ; they know the 
futility of acquiring a thousand and one minute rules, before thero 
is any material to apply them to, and consequently are qualified to 
appreciate an effort to furnish the learner with a treatise free from 
such anomalies. The author expects to comprise within the limits 
of four lessons, such notions of the structure and pronunciation of 
the language as will enable the student to read, write, and speak 
Castilian, to a limited extent perhaps, but to that extent, correctly, 
—proposing, should the plan of his method be favourably received, 
to extend at some future period the number of lessons, until they 
embrace the language in its entire detail. 

l.i, London Wall, 
October, 1841. 



ROTICE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 

In accordance with the foregoing promise, some additional exercises 
have been appended in the present edition. These, without em- 
bracing the tntirc range of constructive formulae, will enable the 
learner to dispense with the grammar until he can read and under- 
stand the language. 

Januarft 1844. 



THE SPANISH LANGUAGE. 



LESSON FIRST. 



HEADING. 



Tres viajantes hallaron un tesoro en el camino, y 
dijeron : tenemos hambre, preciso es que uno de los 
tres vaya 6. comprar algo que comer; lo que se 
verific6 asi. El que salio con este intento dijo 
asimismo : voy a envenenar la carne, a fin de que 
mis compafieros mueran al comerla, y pueda yo 
disfrutar solo del tesoro. Ejecuto su proyecto, y 
puso veneno en lo que habia traido para comer. 



In order to read the above correctly, two things are requi- 
site : the first, to know the pronunciation of the words, and 
the second, to know their signification. To acquaint the stu- 
dent with the pronunciation, the passage will be repeated, and 
under each word will be placed such a combination of letters 
as may serve to represent its sound ; accents will be added, to 
point out where the stress of the voice should rest ; and where 
the combinations of letters given are inadequate to convey an 
idea of the true sound, a further explanation will be appended. 



Tres viajantes hallaron un tesoro en el camino y 
Trace vee-ac/i-an'-tys hal-ya'-ron oon tay-so'-ro en el cam-ee'-no, e 

dijeron : tenemos hambre, preciso es que uno de 
dee-c/<ay'-ron : tay-nay'-mos am-bry' pray-thee'-so es kay oon'-o day 

los tres vaya a comprar algo que comer; lo que 
los trace ba-ya ah com-prar / al-go kay ko-mer'; lo kay 

se verifico asi. El que salio con este intento dljo 
say bay-ree-fee-co' a-see'. El kay sal-lec-o' con esty een-ten'-to dee -cho 

asimismo : voy a envenenar la came, a fin de que 
a-see'-mees-mo : boy ah en-ben-en-ar' la car'-ny, ah feen day kay 

mis companeros mueran al comerla, y pueda yo 
mece com-pan-yer -os mwer-an al com-er'-la, o pvve-da yo 

disfrutar solo del tesoro. Ejecuto su proyecto, y 
dees-froot-ar 7 so-lo del tay-so-ro. EcAe-coo'to soo pro-yec'-to e 

puso veneno en lo que habia traido para comer, 
poo'-so ben-en'-o en lo kay ha-bee'-a tra-ce'-do pa-ra comer'. 

The nearest approximation to the sound of the Spanish j in 
English, is that of the letter h in the word alcohol, strongly 
aspirated. The sound of the eh in the Scottish words cloch, 
huh, etc. is the sound of the j exactly. It is the sound the g 
has in the German word Cobourg, and it is also the guttural 
sound given in some of the English Colleges to the Greek x> 
It is produced by breathing strongly, and making the air strike 
the roof of the mouth. We have represented the sound by 
(//, but the Student must be careful not to give the sound 
these letters have in the word arch or chorus to the Spanish j ; 
neither of these, of course, is the sound wc mean. Let him 
bear in mind the h in the word alcohol if lie is not acquainted 
with the still more exact sound in the Scottish words we have 
mentioned. The words in the lesson to which these remarks 
apply arc — 

viajantes dijo dijeron ejecuto 

Good speakers make no distinction between the sound of 
the I) and the v. The sound the Castilians give these letters 
is the English sound of the b, with a slight tinge of the v 
affixed. 

n is equivalent to gn, and has the liquid sound of these two 
letters in sign, consignee, ete. The manner however in which 
we have written the word compaheroa exhibits the pronuncia- 
tion of the gn sufficiently well. 



TRANSLATION 1 . 

The student being now acquainted with the pronunciation 
of the words, must next be taught their meaning. We shall 
again repeat the passage, and place under each Spanish word 
its exact equivalent in English. By the aid this translation 
affords him, the student must endeavour to read into English 
the passage itself. When he can do this without hesitation, 
he should make a translation of it into good English, and re- 
translate this version again into Spanish, comparing it when 
done with the original. This will be an exercise in compo- 
sition, as well as a means of impressing the construction of the 
passage more firmly on the mind. 

Tres viaj antes hallaron un tesoro en el camino; y 

Three travellers found a treasure in (on) the road; and 

dijeron : tenemos hambre, preciso es que 
(they) said : (we) have hunger, necessary (it) is that 

uno de los tres vaya a comprar algo que comer; 
one of the three may go to to buy something what to eat ; 

lo que se verifico asi. El 

the which itself verified thus (which was accordingly done). He 

que salio con este intento dijo asimismo : voy 

that went with this intention said to himself : (I) go 

a envenenar la carne, a fin de que 
(I am going) to to poison the meat, to end of that 

mis companeros mueran al comerla, y 
(in order that) my companions may die in the eating it, and 

pueda yo disfrutar solo del tesoro. Ejecuto su 
may I to enjoy alone of the treasure. (He) executed his 

proyecto, y puso veneno en lo que habia 
project, and (he) put poison in the what (he) had 

traido para comer, 
brought for to eat. 



VOCABULARY. 

In order that the student may ascertain whether he has 
acquired a proficiency in the words, we shall range them in 
two columns, the Spanish on one side and the English on the 
other ; so that either the one or other column being covered 
over, the student may submit himself to a special examination 
in this particular. This exercise should be persisted in until 
the meaning of each Spanish word is firmly impressed on the 
memory, and the English ones can be turned into Spanish 
with the utmost facility. 



Tres . 

viaj antes 
halluron 



un 

tesoro 
en . . 
el . . 
camino 

I. : ■ 
dijeron 

tenemoa 

liambrc 
preciso 
es . . 



que 

uno 
de . 
los 
vaya 



Three 

travellers 

found 



. treasure 
. in 
. the 
. road 
. and 
. said 
. have 
. hunger 
. necessary 
. is it is 
(that, what 
\ or which 
. one 
. of, from 
. the 
. may go 

. to 



comprar 

algo . 

comer 
lo . . 
se . . 



erificu 



asi 

el . . 
salio . 
con 

cste . 
intento 
dijo . 
asfmismo 
voy . 
envenena 
la . . 



came . 



The remaining words to be written out in the same manner 



. to buy 
fanything, 

\ something 

. to eat 

. the 

. itself 
f verified 
^carried out 

. thus 

. he 

. went out 

. with 

. this 

. intention 

. said 

. to himself 

. I am going 

. to poison 

. the 

. meat. 



PHRASES. 

The student having made himself perfectly familiar with 
the words of the lesson, must next turn his attention to the 
manner in which they are arranged in sentences, and so mark 
the difference between the English and Spanish construction. 
He may proceed with the sentences in precisely the sune 
manner he did with the words. 



9 

Three travellers found a trea- Tres viajantes hallaron un 

sure. tesoro. 

Upon their way .... En el camino. 

And they said ..... Y dijeron. 

We are hungry Tenemos hambre. 

One of us must go . . . . Preciso es que uno de los tres 

vaya. 

To buy something to eat . . A comprar algo que comer. 

Which was done accoi*dingly. Lo que se verifico asi. 

He who went El que salio. 

In this intention .... Con este intento. 

Said to himself Dijo asimismo. 

I am going to poison the meat. Voy a envenenar la came. 

In order that my companions A fin de que mis compaiieros 

may die. mueran. 

On eating it Al comerla. 

And that I may enjoy the Y pueda yo disfrutar solo del 

treasure alone. tesoro. 

He executed his project . . Ejecuto su proyecto. 

And he put poison in what he Y puso veneno en lo que 

had brought to eat. habia traido para comer. 



CONVERSATION*. 

By the introduction of one or two new words, we shall be 
able to make our lesson the subject of a conversation to be 
carried on entirely in Spanish. This feature in our method, 
which is not presented by any other hitherto published, enables 
the student to converse in the language he is studying, even 
before he has terminated his first lesson. The following are 
the new words we shall introduce, together with their pronun- 
ciation and signification. 

<; Quien ? who ? used in asking questions relating to persons 

in the singular, pronounced kee-en'. 
(? Quienes ? who ? used in asking questions relating to persons 

in the plural, pronounced kee-en' -es. 
<; Donde ? where ? pronounced don-dy. 
Si, yes ; pronounced see. 

Esto, this or that ; pronounced esto. 

Dos, two ; pronounced dos. 

I Porque ? why ? pronounced por-kay'. 







All the other words to be used in the conversation have 
already occurred in the lesson, and ought now to be perfectly 
well known. This exercise should be proceeded with in the 
same manner as the preceding ones : that is, by first pro- 
nouncing the question aloud, and enunciating in the same way 
the answer ; or the answer may be written, and afterwards 
compared with that printed. 

<? Quienes hallaron un tesoro ? Los tres viajantes. 
I Que hallaron los tres via- 
jantes ? Un tesoro. 

^ En donde ? En el camino. 

I En el camino que hallaron 

Hallaron un tesoro. 
Tenemos hambre. 
En el camino. 

Tenemos hambre, es precise 
que uno de los tres vaya a 
comprar algo que comer. 
Si, so verified. 

Lo que dijeron los tres via- 
jantes. 
Si, uno salio. 
Con el intento de comprar 

algo que comer. 
Uno <K- loa tres viajantes. 
Para comprar algo que comer. 
Que uno de 1<>s tres viajantes 
vaya ;i comprar algo que 
comer. 
Los viajantes. 



los tres viajantes ? 
<: Quedijeron los tres viajantes? 
I Donde dijeron esto ? 
I En el camino que dijeron 

los tres viajant 



I Se verified esto ? 
I Que se verified ? 



,: Salio uno ? 

I Con qui intento ? 



I Quien Bali 

I Para que Bali6 '.' 

I Que es preciso ? 



,; Quienes dijeron esto ? . 

, Para que es preciso que un< 

de los tres vaj a 
,; Porque dijeron los tiv> via 

jantes tenemos hambre 

I Quien salio con este intento? 



A donde ? 



I Que dijo el que sali<. '.' . 
I Dijo esto asimismo? . 
I Quien dijo asimismo, voy a 
envenenar la carne ? . 

treciso que uno de los 

tlCS vaya ? . . . . 

, Es preciso que los doe com 
paneroe mueran ? 



Para comprar algo que comer. 
A fin de que uno de los tres 

vaya a comprar algo que 
coiner. 

I 'no de los tres. 

A comprar algo que comer. 
Voy ;i envenenar la came. 
Si, lo dijo. 

El que salio. 

Asi dijeron los tres viajant**. 

Asi dijo uno de los ti- 



11 

(i Que ejecuto el que solio ? . Su proyecto. 

£ Que proyecto ? .... El de envenenar la came. 

I Ejecuto este proyecto ? . . Si. 

I En que puso veneno ? . . En la came. 

i Quien puso veneno en la 

came ? El que salio. 

I Que puso en la came ? . . Veneno. 
<: Donde puso veneno en la 

carne ? En el camino. 

<: Que habia traido ? . . . Algo que comer. 



PRONUNCIATION. 

VOWELS. 

We have already alluded to the opinion entertained by some 
philological writers, that it is impossible to acquire by means 
of the eye alone correct notions of the pronunciation of a 
language. We are disposed to question the accuracy of this 
opinion, and to contend that it is perfectly practicable for an 
Englishman to acquire a correct pronunciation of any language 
without the aid of oral instruction ; nay, we are disposed to go 
further than this, and assert that the eye alone is a much surer 
means for a person of matured judgment acquiring the pro- 
nunciation of a language than the ear alone. Oral impressions 
are with difficulty fixed upon the mind, and when there are 
easily effaced ; ocular ones make a much more stable impres- 
sion, and may keep their hold as long as the memory itself 
retains its functions. 

If in acquiring a modern language absolute sounds had to be 
learned, perhaps the case would be otherwise, and the ear be the 
better means of the two ; for it is no easy matter to paint a 
sound, or describe it upon paper; but an Englishman, in 
speaking his own language, makes use, in some shape or 
other, of nearly all the sounds found in the modern languages 
of Europe. 

The difficulty of acquiring the pronunciation of a modern 
tongue does not then arise from any diversity of sound, but in 
recognising the sounds of one language by the signs made use 
of to represent them in another. Were an Englishman, for 
instance, unacquainted with Spanish, to attempt to pronounce 



12 

the word preciso, he would do so in such a manner as to be 
perfectly incomprehensible to a Castilian ; but had the word 
been written pretheeso, he would have pronounced it as accu- 
rately as the Archbishop of Granada. It is the relative difference 
between the value of the letters of his own language and that 
of another that he has to learn, in order to pronounce that 
other correctly, and he may be taught this quite as well, if not 
better, by ocular as by oral instruction. 

The English student is frequently embarrassed in the pro- 
nunciation of another language by the want of fixed principles 
in his own ; this is peculiarly the case with respect to the vowels: 
each of the vowels in English has from half a dozen to a dozen 
and a halt' different sounds; take for example the vowel a in 
the words 



ability 


have 


alas ! 


ball * 


half 


card 


sat 


halfpenny 


share 



A good English speaker would not pronounce the a in any 
..in" of thus,- words precisely alike. In no Language besides the 
English is Bach a variety of sound given to one letter. In every 
Other the <i DM one uniform invariable sound, which is rarely 
if ever deviated from. The Spanish sound of the vowel a is 
exactly that given to it by the English in the words ti/f, part, 
shut. »ti-. j and it baa this sound in all cases, and under all cir- 
cumstances, excepl perhaps when the accent of the word falls 
upon it, in which ease it is lengthened a little. The student, 
in pronouncing Spanish words, must carefully avoid giving this 
Utter a variety <>\ sound. If lie goes on using at hazard the 

sounds he has been accustomed to give a, he will run the risk 
ot being misunderstood, or. to speak more correctly, of not being 
understood at all. In order that he may habituate himself to 
a correct enunciation of this letter, he would do well to go 
over all the words of the lesson, and give the a the sound it 
has in the word part / by this means he will acquire the habit 
of pronouncing this important letter correctly, and so have 
made one great step towards a good pronunciation of the 
( 'astilian tongue. 

W hat we have said relative to the vowel a is in some measure 



13 

applicable to the i. This letter, at all events, has three totally 
different sounds in English. 

1st. That in pique, pronounced peek. 
2d. That in pin, a piece of wood. 
3d. That in pine, a kind of tree. 

The i in Spanish never has either of the two last sounds, 
but always that of the first ; that is, of ee in the word been. 
The student must be careful not to use either of the two last 
sounds of the i in pronouncing the Spanish words, if he is 
desirous of avoiding being laughed at. 

The next vowel in the order of importance after the i, is the 
c. This letter in English has a frightful variety of sounds ; 
perhaps from thirty to forty words might be cited, in which it 
has a different sound, under very nearly the same circumstances. 
In Spanish, this vowel, like all the others, has only one uniform 
sound, the nearest approximation to which is a in the 
English word made* It would be advisable for the student to 
go again over the words of the lessons, and pronounce the e 
like a in the word we have named : it is hardly necessary to add 
that the e is never mute, either at the end of words or in the 
middle of them, as in the English words killed, have, etc. Such 
an absurdity as this in their language would not be tolerated 
for a single day by the Academy of Madrid. We next come 
to the o. In the English phrase — I do not know — this letter 
occurs three times, and as a matter of course, has, in every 
instance, a different sound. 

1st. In do, it has the sound of ou in could. 
2d. In not, it has the sound of u in nut. 
3d. In know, it has its name sound. 

In this case it is the first two sounds that must be avoided, 
and the third that must be given to the o, whenever it occurs 
in a Spanish word. What horrid nonsense the student would 
make of the language of Castile, were he to give the o the 
sound it has in the word do ! 

* Perhaps the e in the English words let, met, get, is nearer the sound 
of the Spanish e, the a in the English word made will in most cases 
pronounce correctly enough the Spanish e. The learner will he able 
to judge by his own ear when the other sound should be preferred. 



14 

The next and last vowel is u. This has the sound in Spanish 
that a native of London gives it in such words as institution, 
that is of oo in good. The student should go over the words 
of the lesson once more, and pronounce the u in all cases (except 
when it follows q*) like oo in good. After having done this, 
he will have attained such a pronunciation of the words of the 
lesson as may entitle him to use them without hesitation. The 
lesson should therefore be now read over aloud, so that the ear 
may assist the eye in impressing the words and their sounds 
upon the memory. 

Before leaving this part of the subject, we may remark that 
when the two vowels come together, each continues to retain 
its own particular sound, but both are pronounced by one single 
emission of the voice : thus in the word )»ucran, the u and the 
c have the sounds we have already described, but when together 
are pronounced with greater rapidity, so that the sound of the 
one runs a little into the sound of the other, and the word is 
consequently pronounced as if written mweran. Two vowels 
are never jumbled into one, and made to represent a sound 
foreign to them both, as <<i in the English words beauty, 
bread, read, heart, In ad, etc.; such a transmutation is incon- 
sistent with the fixed principle that pervades in every par- 
ticular the pronunciation of the Spanish language. 

COMPOSITION. 

W'c have enabled the student, to a certain extent, to read 
and speak Castilian ; we have now to teach him to write the 
language. We have endeavoured to shew, and we hope suc- 

cessfully, that it is perfectly practicable to read and speak the 
language without the aid of oral instruction ; as for writing a 
language, all the oral instruction in the universe will not 
suffice. In order to write any language correctly, there must 

be s..me hard work, some persevering study on the part of the 
student himself, together with a judicious well-organised manual 
to guide and direct him in his studies. 

* We have said that a is always pronounced like oo in (/nm/, except 
when it followa q. The reason of this exception is. that the letter k is 
not used in Spanish, and qu is used i" represent the sound thai letter 
lias in other languages, (in then being nothing more than the Spanish 
mode of representing the sound k has in English, it followa that <|ui 
should be pronounced hot . qua, fttoa . <|uc. lay; and so on. 



15 



In the next lesson we shall deduce from the text some 
general rules for the construction of the language. In the 
meanwhile we shall give, as an exercise in composition, some 
sentences that may be translated into Spanish by simply 
transposing the words of the lesson. In order to make good 
Spanish of these sentences, the student has only to bear in 
mind the difference between the construction of the Spanish 
and English^ phrases given at page 9. Beyond this, nothing 
more is required in order to accomplish the following exercise. 

The road of the travellers. He put the meat on the road. 

The road to Madrid. Did he got- out ? 

We have one companion (un Did he put poison in the meat? 



companero). 

We have two companions. 

We have three companions. 

We have a treasure. 

We have meat. 

We have poison. 

We have something (algo que) 
to eat. 

We have a project. 

Have we a treasure ? 

Have we anything (algo que) 
to eat ? 

Have we any poison ? 

Have we any meat? 

Have we a companion ? 

We have not (no) * the trea- 
sure. 

We have no meat. 

We have no poison. 

We have not a companion. 

We have nothing (nada) to eat. 

We have no companions. 

He went out. 

He put poison in the meat. 

He said that. 

They said that. 

They found "that. 

That was verified. 

He had brought this. 

* The particle no (not), in Spanish, must always be placed imme- 
diately before the verb in the sentence. The phrase we have not the 
treasure, should be written, no tenemos el tesoro ,- the negative particle 
no coming before the verb tenemos. 



Did he say anything ? 

Did they say that ? 

Was that verified ? 

Had he brought anything ? 

He did not go out. 

He said nothing. 

He did not put poison in the 
meat. 

They did not say that. 

They did not find anything. 

That was not carried out. 

He had not brought the meat. 

One of the three travellers 
must go. 

The travellers must die. 

Must the travellers be poi- 
soned ? 

Must something to eat be 
bought ? 

Was the project verified on 
eating the meat ? 

Did he say anything on eat- 
ing the meat ? 

What did he say on eating 
the meat ? 

I am going to poison the meat, 
so that my companions may 
die. 



I am going to buy poison, in 
order 'to poison the travel- 
lers. 

I am going to poison my com- 
panions, in order that I may 
enjoy alone the treasure. 

What have we ? 

What had he brought ? 

What did he say ? 

What did they say ? 

What did they find ? 

What is necessary ? 

What was carried out ? 

What is it that (lo que) we 
have ? 

What project was carried out ? 

What is it ? 

What have we to eat (que 
comer) ? 

What must be bought ? 

What must be oaten ? 

What must be poisoned ? 

What was not carried out ? 

What is it that (lo que) we 
have not ? 



What must be bought to poi- 
son (para envenenar) the 
meat ? 

What must be brought (para) 
to eat ? 

What was carried out ? 

Was that carried out ? 

What project was carried out ? 

Who carried out his project ? 

Was the project carried out? 

That was not carried out. 

The project was not carried 
out. 

I am going to poison the meat. 

I am going to poison the tra- 
vellers. 

I am going to poison my com- 
panions. 

I am going to buy something. 

I am going to buy something 
to eat. 

I am not going to poison my 
companions. 

I am not going to buy poison. 

1 am not going to eat the 
travellers. 



The student has now read, written, and spoken a little 
Spanish. The author is satisfied that no one has ever under- 
taken to enable a learner to read, write, and speak a language 
within the limits of one lesson, who has more faithfully 
redeemed his promise. 

The student can now, to a limited extent, make himself 
understood in the language. In the next lesson, his knowledge 
of its principles and practice will he increased in a still greater 
ratio : he will he taught some new words, some new rules of 
construction ; his facilities of conversation will he increased, 
and his general notion of the language will be extended. 



LESSON SECOND. 



READING, 



REPETITION. 



The following exercise in reading consists of a translation of 
the phrases given in English in the last lesson, to be rendered 
into Spanish ; if the student has already done this, it may be 
fairly presumed that he will find no difficulty in reading them. 
Supposing even that he may not have obeyed our instructions 
to the letter, he should still experience no difficulty, each word 
having been repeated over and over again throughout the 
exercises of the preceding lesson. 

El camino de los viaj antes. El camino & Madrid. 
Tenemos un companero. Tenemos dos compaiieros. 
Tenemos tres compaiieros. Tenemos un tesoro. 
Tenemos carne. Tenemos veneno. Tenemos algo 
que comer. Tenemos un proyecto. i Tenemos un 
tesoro ? i Tenemos algo que comer ? - h Tenemos 
veneno? £ Tenemos carne? £ Tenemos un companero? 
No tenemos el tesoro. No tenemos carne. No tenemos 
veneno. No tenemos companero. No tenemos nada 
que comer. No tenemos compaiieros. Salio. Puso 
veneno en la carne. Dijo esto. Dijeron esto. 
Halteron esto. Se verifico esto. Habia traido esto. 
Puso la carne en el camino. £ Salio ? ^Puso veneno 
en la carne ? ' h Dijo algo ? i Dijeron esto ? ^ Se 
verific6 esto ? - h Habia traido algo ? No salio. No 



18 

dijo nada. No puso veneno en la carne. No 
dijeron esto. No hallaron nada. No se verifico esto. 
No habia traido la carne. Preciso es que uno de los 
tres viajantes vaya. Preciso es que los viajantes 
mueran. ^Es preciso envenenar a los viajantes? ^Es 
preciso comprar algo que comer ? £ Se verifico el 
intento al coiner la carne? £ Dijo algo al coiner 
la carne ? ^ Que dijo al comer la carne ? Voy a 
envenenar la carne, a fin de que mis companeros 
mueran. Voy a comprar veneno a fin de envenenar 
a los viajantes. Voy a envenenar mis companeros 
a fin de que pueda disfrutar solo del tesoro. £ Que 
tenemos ? i. Que habia traido ? i Que dijo ? £ Que 
dijeron? ^Que hallaron? Que es preciso? i Que 
se verifico? ^Que es lo que tenemos? ^Que proyecto 
se verifico? }. Que es? ^Que tenemos para comer? 
j Que es preciso comprar ? £ Que es preciso comer ? 
4 Que 6B preciso envenenar? i Que no se verifico? 
g Que es lo (pie no tenemos ? £ Que es preciso com- 
prar para envenenar la carne ? 4 Que es preciso 
comprar para coiner ? g Que se verifico ? $ Se verifieo 
esto? 1 Que proyecto se verifieo? ^Quien verifieo 
su proyecto ? J Se verifieo el proyecto ? No se verified 
esto. No se verifieo el proyecto. Voy a envenenar 
la carne. Voy a envenenar a los viajantes. Voy a 
envenenar a mis companeros. Voy a comprar afaro* 
Voy a comprar algo que comer. No voy a envenenar 
a mis companeros. No voy a comprar veneno. No 
voy a coiner a los viajantes. 



19 

READING. 

CONTINUATION OF TEXTS. 

Pero los otros dos que durante su ausencia 
concibieron una idea semejante respecto de el, le 
asesinaron cuando volvio, quedandose de consiguiente 
dueiios del hallazgo ; pero comiendo en seguida de 
la carne envenenada, murieron tambien ambos. Un 
filosofo que pasaba por alia, esclamo : \ Ah ! lo que 
es el mundo ! ved de que manera ha tratado a estas 
tres personas. Desgraciado del que aspira a riquezas. 



As in the case of the portion of text, given in the previous 
lesson, the above will be repeated with the pronunciation of 
the words underscribed, and again with their translation. 

The following is a repetition of the text, with the pronun- 
ciation of each word and its accentuation. We cannot too 
strongly urge the necessity of the student's attention to this 
exercise. The same words will be repeated over and over 
again in the exercises that are to follow, so that in proportion 
to the care he bestows on the pronunciation at the outset will 
he be accurate throughout the lesson. 

Pero los otros dos que durante su ausencia 
Pe'ro los ot'-ros dos kay doo-ran'-ty soo ou-sen'-thee-a 

concibieron una idea semejante* respecto de el, 
con-theeb-ye'-roa oo'-na ee-day'-a say-me-c/jan'-ty res-pec'-to day el, 

le asesinaron cuando volvio quedandose de 
lay a-say-see-na'-ron kwan'-do bol-bee-o' kay-dan'-do-sy day 

* The j in this word, as in those of the former lesson in which it 
occurs, has the sound of h in the English word alcohol, that is, a strong 
guttural aspiration, equivalent, as we have already said, to ch in the 
Scottish words loch, etc. 



20 



consiguiente dueiios del hallazgo,* pero comiendo en 

con-seeg-yen'-ty doo-ain-yos del hal-yath'-go, pe'-ro com-yen'-do en 

seguida de la carne envenenada, murieron tambien 

say-gee'-daf day la kar'-ny en-be-ne-na'-da, moor-yer'-on tamb'-yeu 



ambos. 

am-bos'. 

i Ah! 

Ah! 



Un 

Oon 



filosofo que pasaba por alia, esclamo : 

fee-lo'-so-fo kay pa-sa'-ba por al-ya', es-cla-mo' : 

lo que es el mundo ! Ved de 
lo kay es el moon'-do! Bed day. 



que manera 
kay ma-nai'-ra 



ha tratado 

ah tra-ta -do 

que aspira 
kay as-pee'-ra 



ah 



estas 

es'-tas 



tres 
trace 



personas. 
per-so'-nas. 



nquezas. 
ree-kay'-thas. 



Desgraciado del 
Des-gra-thee-a'-do del 



TRANSLATION". 



Pero 


los 


otros 


dos, 


que 


durante 


SU 


ausencia 


But 


the 


other 


two, 


who 


during 


his 


absence 



concibieron una idea semejante respecto de 61, le 
conceived an idea similar in respect of him, him 

asesinaron cuando volvio, quedandose de consiguiente 

murdered when (he) returned remaining of (in) consequence 

dueiios del hallazgo, pero comiendo en seguida de la 
masters of the prize, but eating afterwards of the 

came envenenada, murieron tambien ambos. 
meat poisoned (they) died also both. 



Un filosofo 

A philosopher 

j Ah ! lo que es 

Ah ! the what is 



que pasaba por alh'i, esclamo 

who was passing by there, cried out : 

el mundo ! Ved de que manera ha tratado 

the world! Sco of (in) what manner (it) has treated 

estas tres personas. Desgraciado del que aspira 

theso thrco persons. Miserable of be who aspires 

riquezas. 
riches. 



' Z in Spanish has the sound of th in the English word think. 
t The letter y in seguida has the hard sound of g in yet. 



21 



VOCABULARY. 



Pero . 


. . But 


asesinaron 


. murdered 


los . . 


. . the 


cuando 


. when 


otros . 


. . other 


volvio . . 


. he returned 


dos . . 


. . two 


quedandose 


. remaining 


que . . 


. . who 


consiguiente 


. consequence 


durante 


. . during 


duenos 


. masters 


su . . 


. . his 


hallazgo . 


. prize 


ausencia 


. . absence 


comiendo . 


. eating 


concibieror 


i . conceived 


en seguido 


. afterwards 


una 


. . an 


la . . . 


. the 


idea 


. . idea 


carne . . 


. meat 


semejante 


. similar 


envenenada 


. poisoned 


respecto 


. in respect 


murieron . 


. they died 


de . . . 


. of 


tambien . 


. also 


el . . . 


. him 


ambos 


. both 


le . . . 


. him 







The remaining words to be written out in the same manner. 



PHRASES. 



The other two ..... 
Who 

During his absence . . . 
Had conceived a similar idea . 

Assassinated him .... 

On his return 

Remaining in consequence 
masters of the prize 

On eating afterwards some of 
the poisoned meat 

They also both died . . . 
A philosopher ..... 
Who was passing that way . 

Exclaimed 

Ah ! what is the world . . 
See, in what manner . . . 
It has treated these three 

persons 
Miserable ...... 



Los otros dos. 

Que. 

Durante su ausencia. 

Concibieron una idea seme- 
jante. 

Le asesinaron. 

Cuando volvio. 

Quedandose de consiguiente 
duenos del hallazgo. 

Comiendo en seguida de la 
carne envenenada. 

Murieron tambien ambos. 

Un filosofo. 

Que pasaba por alia. 

Esclamo. 

i Ah ! lo que es el mundo. 

Ved, de que manera. 

Ha tratado a estas trespersonas. 



He who aspires to riches . . El que aspira a riquezas. 



22 



C O N VERS ATION. 

<i Que concibieron los otros dos? La idea de disfrutar las 

riquezas. 
£ Quienes concibieron una idea 

semejante ? .... Los otros dos. 
£ Cuando concibieron esta Durante la ausencia del que 

idea? salio. 

<; A quien asesinaron los otros 

dos ? Al que salio. 

<; Quienes asesinaron al que 

salio ? Los otros dos. 

<? Cuando le asesinaron ? . . Cuando volvio. 

(J Quien volvio ? . . . . Uno de los tres. 

^ Que dijo uno de los tres Uno de los tres dijo : voy a 

viajantes ? .... envenenar la carne. 

<: A quien dijo: voy a envenenar 

la came ? Asimismo. 

<; Puso veneno en la carne ? . Si. 

<r Con que intento ? . . . Con el de disfrutar solo del 

tesoro. 

I Que tesoro ? El que hallaron en el camino. 

Ed el camino en que pasaba 
el rilusofo. 



En qui 

i Con que fin salio uno de los 

tres viajantes ? 
I Quien esclamo : deigraciado 

del que aspira ;i nqo 
I Porque eselamo asi el rilu 

sofo ? 

I Porque murieron los tres ? 

<: A quien dijeron csto ? . 
I Quienes son ducrios del hal 

lazyo ? * . . . 
, Murieron los otros dos ? 
I Como (how) ? ... 

I Donde ? 

,; Quien pasaba por alia ? . 
,; Por donde pasaba mi rilo- 

sofo ? 

I Cuando pasaba que csclamo 



Con el de comprar came. 

El fllnSOfb. 

Porque murieron los tres via- 
jantes. 

Porque dijeron : tencmos 
1 iamb re. 

Al que salio. 

Los otros dos. 
Si, murieron. 

Comiendolacamecnvencnada. 
En el camino. 
Un filosofo. 

Por alia. 

Ah ! lo (pie cs el mundo ! Ved 
de que mancra ha tratailo 
a estas tres personal. 
t : Quien csclamo csto ? . . Vn fil6sofo. 

£ Cuando? Cuando pas;iba. 

. Quiefl efl desgradado '.' . . El (pie aspira a riqueza . 



23 



i A quienes ha tratado el mun- 

do ? A las tres personas. 

jiAsesinaron los otros. dos al 

que salio cuando volvio ? Si. 

<rQuedandose duenos de que ? Del hallazgo. 

<; De que hallazgo ? . . . Del que hallaron. 

<? Murieron los otros dos ? . Si, ambos murieron. 

<? Murieron los tres viajantes? Si, murieron. 

CONSTRUCTION. 

We shall now subject our text to a special analysis, in order to 
extract from it some general rules for the guidance of the student 
in writing Spanish. 

I. 



Tenemos un tesoro 

have a treasure 

Salio 

went out 

Volvio 

came back 

Dijo algo 

said something , 

Puso veneno en la carne 

put poison in the meat 

Le asesinaron 

him assassinated 

Murieron tambien 

died also 

<t Que habia traido ? 

what had brought? 



We have a treasure. 

He went out. 

He came back. 

He said something. 

He put poison in the meat. 

They assassinated him. 

They died also. 

What had he brought. 



It will be observed that, in all these phrases selected from the 
lesson, the pronouns I, We, etc. used in English are not expressed 
in Spanish. The reason of this is, that these words are indicated by 
the termination of the verb in the latter language. The word have, 
for instance, when we have is to be expressed, is written tenemos, 
but when you have is to be indicated, it is written tene-is, and so on 
in the case of the other pronouns, the verb assuming a different form 
to express each. The pronouns are consequently unnecessary, and 
are only used when great emphasis is required. 

II. 

Yo pueda I may. 

We have just said that the pronouns are not used in Spanish, 



24 

except when a statement is to be made emphatically, occasionally 
it happens that some persons of a particular tense have the same 
terminations ; in such a case the pronouns are employed in order to 
avoid a doubtful meaning. It is on this account the pronoun yo is 
employed in the sentence quoted, pueda (may) being written in the 
same manner in the first and third persons singular. 

III. 

utlf^eStS } That was accomplished. 
• S V er -!K 6 t in f en . t0 } The intention was verified. 

itself verified the intention J 

Se verifico el proyecto } The ject was canied fc 
itself verified the project J r J 

When anything is to be done by nobody knows who, or nobody 
knows how, the Spanish idiom prefers the expression it did itself, to 
it teas done. It will be observed that these manners of expression 
are very nearly equivalent in signification. The question of which 
is the most logical wo shall not discuss here. The student has 
only to observe that when he has such a phrase, as it teas verified, to 
render into Spanish, he must render it by itself verified, sc verifico. 

IV. 

Tenemos hambre \ We arc hungr „ 

wo havo hunger J ° J 

The above phrase will suffice to show the student how he should 
express himself when he wants to say that he is hungry ; it would 
be absolute nonsense to say in Spanish, I am hungry. 

V. 

El mundo The world. 

La came The meat. 

Los viajantes The travellers. 

Las personas The persons. 

It will be seen by the above sentences, that the article the changes 
its form in Spanish. In English the word the undergoes no altera- 
tion in form ; whatever kind of noun it comes before, it always 
retains the same invariable form the. The following are the forms 
the article assumes in Spanish, and the cases in which the different 
forms aro employed. 



25 

El is used before a noun in the masculine gender. 

La is used before a noun in the feminine gender. 

Los is used before a masculine noun in the plural number. 

Las before a feminine noun in the plural number. 

VI. 

El camino ...... The road. 

La came The meat. 

Since el is used before nouns in the masculine gender, the word 
camino must necessarily be masculine, although in nature a road is 
of no gender, but neuter. There is no neuter gender in Spanish. 
All the nouns in the language are either masculine or feminine. 
The student then must pay attention to the gender of the nouns as 
indicated by the articles placed before them. He will by this means 
be able to use the proper articles when he has occasion to employ 
the same words. 



VII. 

9?® } or what, 
vhich } 



Lo 

the which 



Lo is another form of the article, employed with words which have 
no real substantive meaning, as which, wherefore, and such like. 

VIII. 

En el camino . . . . On the road. 

<r Que ejecuto el que salio? What executed he who went out. 

The faculty that some English words have, such as read, refuse, 
etc., of changing their pronunciation, without changing their ortho- 
graphy, is not possessed by the words of any other language with 
which we are acquainted. One word may have two, three, or even 
a greater number of meanings, however, in every language. In the 
phrases we have quoted from our lesson, we find that the word el in 
the first instance is the definite article the, and in the second the 
personal pronoun he. In order that this circumstance may give rise 
to no doubt, the academy of Madrid have determined, that when el 
is a pronoun, it should be written with an accent, as in the case of 
that in the last of the examples given above. 

The student then must be careful to place an accent on the el 

D 



26 

when it has the signification of he or it, and not to employ an accent 
when el has the signification of the. It is necessary to observe, at 
the same time, that when the pronoun el begins a sentence, in con- 
sequence of which there is a capital letter, the accent is not then 
added, because it is not customary to accentuate capital letters. 

IX. 

Duefios del hallazgo . . . Masters of the prize. 

When de (of) and el (the) come together, the e of the de is cut 
off, and the two words are joined together into one. The reason of 
this is sufficiently obvious : the sound of the two e's occurring together 
would be harsh and disagreeable, and consequently inconsistent with 
the harmony of the Castilian tongue. The student must therefore 
take care when he has the preposition (de, of) and the masculine 
article (el, the) in apposition, to make del of them. This remark, of 
course, does not apply either to the feminine article la, or the plurals 
lot and las. 



Respecto de el J I n reS pect to him. 

In respect of him ) r 

When el is a pronoun the rule we have given above does not apply, 
the recurrence of el as a pronoun is not so frequent ; and besides by 
making a distinction between the construction of the pronoun and 
article, an additional security is given for clearness and perspicuity 
in meaning. The de and the pronoun are sometimes, nevertheless, 
united by the best writers; and we have an example of it in the 
lesson. The phrase desgraciado del, is, literally, woe of him, conse- 
quently the del in this case represents the preposition and the pro- 
noun. The student has therefore some latitude in the application of 
the rule so far as the pronoun is concerned — euphony must decide 
in a matter like this. 



XI. 

Al comeila In the eating it. 

What has just been said of the preposition <lo, and the article el, 
is also applicable to the preposition u and the article, as will i 
by the above example ; when therefore the student has to make oat 
Of ;'i and d, he must join them together, and form al of them. 



^Donde puso veneno 
Where put (he) poison I Where did he put poison 
en la carne ? ( in the meat ? 

in the 



27 



XII. 

I Para que salio ? } whafc did he fc for ? 

* or what went out (he) ? J ° 

^S70N>» Wi Did he execute this project? 
eEn que puso veneno? j i„ wha t did he put poison ? 

In what put (he) poison ? J r r 

*§h U t P r U r S H°> en i a Cam f;l What did he put in the meat? 

What put (he) m the meat ? J r 

puso veneno -\ 

put (he) poison I Where did h 
la carne ? r in the 

he meat ? J 

*S?t h h ?^? aid ^ I What did he bring? 

What had (he) brought ? J & 

In asking a question in English, the auxiliary verbs do, did, etc., 
are employed, as did they say so and so ? or the pronoun is put after 
the verb instead of before it, as said they so and so ? Now there 
are no such words in Spanish as do or did, that can be made use 
of in this way, so a question cannot be constructed in Spanish 
according to the first of these English forms ; and the pronouns 
not being employed, a question cannot very well be constructed 
like the second. What then is to be done with the words in 
order to ask a question in Spanish, since there are neither do's nor 
did's, nor pronouns to place after the verb ? Clearly, nothing. The 
same words, and in the same arrangement that they make an as- 
sertion, also ask a question. For instance, the phrase " we are hungry" 
in Spanish, is tenemos hambre. In order to say, " are we hungry," the 
same words must be employed and the same order maintained, with 
the addition simply of a note of interrogation, thus — tenemos hambre? 
And so in all other cases. The student then, in rendering such an 
interrogation into Spanish, as " did he go out," must first consider 
what " he did go out" is, and he finds that it is salio ; he has nothing 
more to do than to write salio and place the sign of interrogation 
after it, in order to express, " did he go out?" This is the whole mys- 
tery of constructing an interrogation in Castilian ! 



28 



XIII. 

Algo que comer j Something to eat. 

Something what to eat J ° 

Lo que se verified j Which was verified! 

That which itself verified ) 



Voy a comprar algo 
am going to to buy something (I am going to buy 
que comer j something to eat. 

what to eat 



Tratadoaestas tres personas J Treated these three ns> 

I reated to those three persons J * 

T * fill /5 ?"? } To the end that. 
To the end of that j 

Disfrutar solo del tesoro } T o enjoy alone the treasure. 

J. o enjoy alone of the treasure J J J 

Desgraciado del que aspira"} 

Miserable of ho who aspires ( Miserable he who aspires 
a riquezas j to riches, 

to riches J 

On comparing the English with the Spanish construction in the 
above sentences, it will be observed that there arc some words used 
in the former language which have no equivalents in the latter. 
There are in all languages some littlo words introduced into sen- 
tences called encletics, either with a view of reposing the voice in 
speaking, or of rounding off nmre harmoniously the turning of a 
period. In English, the word got, in such a phrase as I have got 
the book., is an cnclctic A foreigner meeting with such a phrase as 
this would be very much puaaled indeed to discover the value of the 
word got, and would very likely conclude that it was some bctixe 
Anglaise, which could only be accounted f<>r by supposing the lan- 
guage to be still in a barbarous state. The words a, de, and que, in 
the Bentence& we have Quoted from our text, are Spanish encletics, 
and being congenial to the idiom of the language are very often 
introduced where perhaps they might have been very well dis- 
]■>< QSed with. It is true that were we to consult the syntax of the 
Latin language we might, in most instances, find a logical reason 
for the employ of these words, but as we cannot see how any suofa 
learned disquisition would benefit the student, we shall not enter 
upon it here. As constituent parts of Spanish construction, the 
student must note well the cases in which these particles are 
employed, and make use of them accordingly. In this way he will 
acquire the habitude of employing them correctly. 



29 



XIV. 
Respecto de el I Iu respect to hi m . 

In respect of him ) * 

Quedandose de consiguiente I Remaining in consequence. 
Remaining of consequence ) 

Ved de que manera J See in what manner. 
See of what manner J 

It will be seen by tbe above phrases, that the word de is employed 
in Spanish to represent the English prepositions in and to as well 
as of. There are rules for the employment of the prepositions in 
Spanish, which, from their complexity, cannot be given here. The 
student must observe in the mean time, that the words respecto, 
quedandose, and ved, must have de (of) after them, whatever pre- 
positions follow their equivalents in English. 

XV. 

No tenemos hambre | W e are not hungry. 
Not we have hunger. ) ° J 

No dijeron nada J They did not say anything. 
Not they said anything J J J J ° 

The construction of a negation in Spanish is a very easy matter. 
The rule is to place the negative particle no, in all cases, immediately 
before the verb ; thus, we are hungry, is tenemos hambre. By putting 
no before the verb tenemos, the phrase, we are not hungry, is the 
result, and so in the case of all other negations. 

There are in English two ways of constructing a negation ; firstly, 
without the auxiliary, as they said nothing ; secondly, with the 
auxiliary, as they did not say anything. The word did in the second 
form is very likely to embarrass the learner at the outset. "We have 
already stated (§ 13), that the words do and did, when auxiliaries, 
have no equivalents in Spanish. The student must bear in mind, 
that do and did are mere signs of time, and have no real value in 
a sentence. He must find the simple English form, we mean the 
form of the sentence in which the auxiliary is not introduced, and 
translate that into Spanish ; he will then encounter no difficulty. 



30 

PRONUNCIATION. 

CONSONANTS. 

The only Spanish consonant that we shall have any difficulty 
in conveying to the learner a precise notion of, is that of the 
consonant j. The nearest approximation to the sound used in 
English is that given to the letter h in the word alcohol, but 
it must be admitted that this is far from being an exact equi- 
valent. 

There is, besides the difficulty of conveying an exact idea 
of the sound, another circumstance with regard to it likely 
enough to embarrass the beginner. The sound that approaches 
the nearest to it in the English pronunciation is very rarely 
made use of. Perhaps the word alcohol is the only one in 
which the h is universally enounced with a guttural aspiration. 
( )n the other hand the j is of exceedingly frequent recurrence 
in Spanish ; it is found in almost every sentence, and not un- 
frequently occurs twice in the same word. The student, 
therefore, in order to pronounce correctly, must habituate 
himself to the frequent repetition of a sound the organs of his 
voice have been almost unaccustomed to enunciate. 

Though the Spanish sound of the j is not found perfectly 
enounced amongst the sounds used in the pronunciation of the 
English. Ml some of our readers will be acquainted with it. 
The Oriental linguist makes use of the sound in pronouncing 
the He and the Hetb of the Hebrew. It is also the guttural 
sound the Greek scholar gives to the y_. The sound is more- 
over a characteristic in the German language, and is exactly 
that given by the Saxons to the g in Saxe-Coburg. We 
have already stated that the Castilian sound of j is equi- 
valent to the ch of the Scottish dialect ; any one therefore 
solicitous about an accurate enunciation of this sound has 
only to observe the inflexion given by a native of Scotland to 
the ich in the word Ballengeich, which is an exact counterpart 
of the Castilian j. 

We also said last lesson that the sound was produced by 
breathing hard, and causing the air gently to strike the roof of 



31 

the mouth ; the learner, if he can form a conception of what is 
meant by a guttural sound, cannot fail, by following the direc- 
tion there given, to produce the sound. 

The sound of the j being comprehended, the other conso- 
nants present no great difficulties. With the exception of g 
before e and i, which is then pronounced like the j ; v pro- 
nounced like b ; c before e and i ; and z pronounced like th in 
think ; they have the same sounds as their equivalents in Eng- 
lish. All that is wanting is a little attention on the part of the 
student to what has been said. An Englishman has been ac- 
customed to give the z the hissing sound of ts, and although 
the careless student is told that z in Spanish is sounded like th 
he will go on giving it the sound he has been accustomed to 
attach to it, thus barbarising the word in which it occurs, and 
rendering himself to all intents and purposes unintelligible. 
Let the learner pronounce over and over again the words in 
which letters occur that have a totally different sound from 
those they have in English ; in this way the predisposition to 
give English sounds to the Spanish letters will be easily and 
effectually overcome. 



COMPOSITION*. 

An accurate knowledge of any language is only to be 
attained by writing it. By this means alone can the niceties 
of structure be acquired, so necessary to a comprehension of 
the genius of a language. It is essential therefore that the 
student should translate the phrases given, as an exercise in 
Composition. The words in those that follow have already 
occurred repeatedly, either in this or the preceding lesson, so 
that they can present no difficulty. All the student has to 
do, in order to translate into good Spanish the sentences that 
follow, is to bear in mind the rules of construction that have 
been deduced from the text. 

He aspires. He aspires to the treasure the 
To what does he aspire ? travellers found. 

Does he aspire to that ? Ah ! he aspires to that ? 

He aspires to the treasure. Yes, Sir (Si, Senor). 

To what treasure does he Who aspires to the treasure ? 

aspire ? A philosopher is miserable. 



32 



He who went out is miserable. 

He who came back is miser- 
able. 

The world is miserable. 

He who aspires to riches is 
miserable. 

Is he who went out miserable? 

Is he who came back miser- 
able? 

Is a philosopher miserable ? 

Is the world miserable ? 

Is the person who aspires to 
riches miserable ? 

Are (son) travellers miser- 
able ? 

Are the other two miserable ? 

Is he who cried out miserable? 

Who is miserable ? 

Who are miserable ? 

Are the masters of the trea- 
sure miserable ? 

The person who aspires to 
riches is not miserable. 

The world is not miserable. 

The philosopher is not miser- 
able. 

A traveller is not miserable. 

Travellers are miserable. 

Are traveller^ miserable? 

Travellers are not miserable. 

What is a philosopher? 

What is the world? 

Is the meat poisoned ? 

Who is the master of the 
treasure ? 

Who is that ? 

What is that? 

Are they master^ of the trea- 
sure ? 

Who are masters of the trea- 
sure ? 



Who has poisoned the meat ? 

He has poisoned the meat. 

Has he poisoned the meat ? 

What has he poisoned ? 

Who cried out ? 

The philosopher cried out. 

Did he cry out ? 

W T ho was passing ? 

A philosopher was passing. 

They died. 

W 7 ho died ? 

The travellers did not die. 

Did both die ? 

They did not die on eating 

the meat. 
Who died on eating the meat ? 
Did he return ? 
Who returned? 
He who went out returned. 
He did not return, 
lie did return. 
When did he return ? 
Who is master of the prize ? 
The world is master of the 

prize. 
What is the world master of? 
When did he who went out 

return ? 
When did the other two die ? 
When did they assassinate 



thei 



companion 



When did the three travellers 
run! the treasure? 

When did he aspire to riches ? 

Whom did they assassinate'.* 

Did they assassinate the phi- 
losopher? 

Why did they assassinate him? 

They did not assassinate him. 

Why did they not assassinate- 
him ? 



LESSON THIRD. 



To the Learner. 



The student will do well to pass carefully in review the 
exercises of the previous lesson before entering upon the pre- 
sent. In this way what has been learned will contribute to 
facilitate the acquisition of what has to be learned. 



READING. 



REPETITION. 



As in the case of the opening reading exercise in last lesson, 
the following consists of a translation of the phrases given in 
English, to be rendered into Spanish. The English of these 
phrases being already given, as well as the value and pronun- 
ciation of each word, the student should be able to read them 
either in Spanish or into English with perfect facility. 

Aspira. i A que aspira ? £ Aspira a esto ? Aspira 
al tesoro. i A que tesoro aspira ? i Aspira al tesoro 
que los viajantes hallaron ? ; Ah ! Aspira & esto ? 
Si seiior. i Quien aspira al tesoro ? Un filosofo es 
desgraciado. El que salio es desgraciado. El que 
volvio es desgraciado. El mundo es desgraciado. 
El que aspira a riquezas es desgraciado. i El que 
salio es desgraciado? i El que volvio es desgraciado ? 
I Un filosofo es desgraciado ? La persona que aspira 
a riquezas es desgraciado. £ Los viajantes son des- 



34 

graciados ? £ Los otros dos son desgraciados ? ^ El 
que esclamo es desgraciado ? i Quien es desgraciado? 
I Quienes son los desgraciados ? i Los duefios del 
tesoro son desgraciados ? La persona que aspira & 
riquezas no es desgraciada. El mundo no es des- 
graciado. El filosofo no es desgraciado. Unviajante 
no es desgraciado. Los viajantes son desgraciados. 
I Los viajantes son desgraciados? ^,Que es un filosofo? 
^Que es el mundo? ^Es la came envenenada? 
I Quien es dueiio del tesoro ? i Quien es este ? ^ Que 
es esto? i Son duenos del tesoro? £ Quienes son 
duenos del tesoro ? i Quien ha envenenado la carne ? 
Ha envenenado la carne. % Ha envenenado la carne ? 
i Que ha envenenado? I Quien esclamo ? El filosofo 
esclamo. i, Esclam6 ? ^ Quien pasaba ? Un filosofo 
pasaba. ;, Murieron? £ Quienes murieron ? No 
murieron los viajantes. £ Murieron ambos? No 
murieron al comer la carne. 4 Quienes murieron al 
comer la carne? | Volvio? i Quien volvi6 ? El 
que 8ali6 volvio. No volvio. Volvio. i Cuando 
volvi6 ? i Quien es el dueiio del hallazgo ? El 
mundo es el dueno del hallazgo. ^De que es el 
mundo dueno? £ Cuando volvi6 el que sali6 ? 
;. Cuando murieron los otros dos? £ Cuando asesinaron 
k su companero? i Cuando los viajantes hallaron 
el tesoro ? i Cuando aspira a riquezas? <j A quien 
asesinaron? ^Asesinaron al fi]6sofo? <; Porquc le 
asesinaron ? No le asesinaron. t ; Porque no le 



asesinaron ? 



35 



READING. 

TEXT. 



The text of our previous lessons furnishing us with a suffi- 
ciently abundant and a sufficiently varied stock of words for 
another set of exercises, instead of introducing any new matter 
we shall repeat the text already given, as a subject for the 
exercises of our present lesson. 

LOS AVAROS VIAJANTES. 

Tres viajantes hallaron un tesoro en el camino, y 
dijeron : tenemos hambre, preciso e» que uno de los 
tres vaya a comprar algo que comer ; lo que se 
verifico asi. El que salio con este intento dijo 
asimismo : voy a envenenar la carne, a fin de que 
mis companeros mueran al comerla, y pueda yo 
disfrutar solo del tesoro. Ejecuto su proyecto, y 
puso veneno en lo que habia traido para comer. 

Pero los otros dos que durante su ausencia 
concibieron una idea semejante respecto de el, le 
asesinaron cuando volvio, quedandose de consiguiente 
dueiios del hallazgo ; pero comiendo en seguida de 
la came envenenada, murieron tambien ambos. Un 
filosofo que pasaba por alld, esclamo : ; Ab ! lo que 
es el mundo ! ved de que manera ha tratado a estas 
tres personas. Desgraciado del que aspira a riquezas. 



36 



C O NVERSATION. 



£ Quienes hallaron un tesoro ? 

,; Donde los tres viajantes hal- 
laron un tesoro? . . . 

I Que dijeron los viajantes 
cuando hallaron el tesoro ? 

I Quien salio a comprar algo 
que comer ? . . . . 

<; A que salio uno de los tres 
viajantes? 

I Salio uno con este intento ? 

<; Que dijo el que salio ? . . 



Tres viajantes. 
En el camino. 
Tenemos hambre. 
Uno de los tres. 



A comprar algo que comer. 
Si, uno de los tres salio. 
Voy a envenenar la came, a 
fin de que mis compa- 
neros mueran al comerla. 
<; A quien dijo esto ? . . . Asimismo. 
I Ejecuto su proyecto ? . . Si, ejecuto su proyecto. 
I En que puso veneno ? . . En lo que habia traido para 

comer. 
I Puso veneno en la came ? . Si, puso veneno en la came. 
I Que concibieron los ostros 

dos? Una idea semejante. 

I Asesinaron al que salio ? . Si, le asesinaron. 
J Cuando le asesinaron ? . . Cuando volvio. 
I Murieron los ostros dos? . Si, murieron tambien. 
( ; Cuando murieron los ostr<» 

dos ? Al comer la came envenenada. 

I Que esdanrf un filosofo ? . Ah ! lo que es el mundo. 
I Quien paso por alia? . . Un filnsofo. 
I Quienes comieiou la earne 

envenenada ? . . . . Los ostros dos. 
f ; Quien puso v\ veneno ? . . El que sali<>. 
,: A que fin puso el veneno ? . A fin de que sus companeros 

muriesen. 
I Quienes murieron al comer Los dos que asesinaron al que 

la came ? salio. 

,: Quien puso en obra su pro- 
yecto ? El que salio. 

£ Que dijo asimismo el que 

salio? \'ov ;i envenenar la came. 

f ; Que dijeron los viajantes ? . Tenemos hambre, es | 

que uno de los trea vav.i 
imprar algo que comer. 



37 

(iRespectode quien concibieron Respecto del que puso veneno 

una idea ? en la carne. 

<;Que concibieron en ausencia 

del que salio ? . . . . Una idea semejante. 

<; Quien es el dueno del tesoro? No lo sabemos (not it we 

know). 

<; Quien es el desgraciado ? . El que aspira a riquezas. 

I Quien aspira a riquezas ? . Todo (all) el mundo. 

I Quien esclamo : Ah ! lo que Un filosofo que pasaba por 

es el mundo ? . . . . alia. 

<; Cuando los otros dos concibie- Durante la ausencia del que 

ron una idea semejante ? salio. 

I Quien ha tratado de esta ma- 

neraaestas tres person as? El mundo. 
I Que es el que aspira a, rique- 
zas ? Desgraciado. 

I Quien aspira a disfrutar solo El que puso veneno en la 

del tesoro ? . . . . carne. 

I Durante la ausencia del que 
salio que concibieron los 

otros dos ? Una idea semejante. 

<: Quienes concibieron una idea 

semejante ? . . . . Los ostros dos. 
^Quienesdijerontenemosham- 

bre ? Los tres viajantes. 

I Quienes le asesinaron al que Los viajantes que concibieron 

salio ? un proyecto durante su 

ausencia. 

I A que salio uno de los tres ? A comprar algo que comer. 
<j Cuando le asesinaron ? . . Cuando volvio. 
I El que salio con este intento 

que dijo asimismo ? . . Voy a envenenar la carne. 
I Cuando murieron los ostros Cuando comieron de la carne 

dos ? envenenada. 

<; De que manera murieron los Dos comiendo la carne enve- 
tres viajantes ? . . . nenada, y el otro fue 

(was) asesinado. 

I Como murieron ? . . . . Quedandose solo el tesoro. 
£ A quien volvio el tesoro? . Al mundo. 

I Porque ? Porque murieron los viajantes. 

(? Murio tambien el filosofo 
comiendo la carne enven- 
enada ? No. 

I Porque no ? Porque no comio. 



38 



CONSTRUCTION. 

XVI. 



El mundo ha tratado 

The world has treated I The world has treated 



their companion 



a estas tres personas. j these three persons, 
to these three persons. J 

Cuando asesinaron a "\ . 

When did they assassinate to I When did they assassinate 

su compaiiero ? ( their companion ? 



We stated generally (§ XIII.), that the genius of the 
Spanish language required the use of certain little words, such 
as a (to), de (of), etc. in cases where the English idiom would 
find them redundant. We intend now, so far as regards the 
a, to be a little more explicit on this point. In English, after 
verbs indicative of motion, the word to is employed, as Peter 
walks to Paris, Peter goes to John ; but after what are called 
transitive verbs, as Peter strikes John, the to is not in general 
used, and why not ? Is there not motion indicated in the one 
case as well as in the other? Does John not receive a blow 
that comes from Peter? Does the blow that comes from 
Peter not go to John ? In Spanish, whether the verb indicates 
a positive or an implied motion, the a is used after it if the 
object of the verb be a person. In the first of the two sen- 
tences quoted from the text, three persons are stated to have 
been the recipients of some kind of treatment from the world ; 
the phrase then is el mundo ha tratado a estas tres personas. 
In the second sentence one of three travellers receives a death 
wound from the other two ; the phrase runs therefore, asesin- 
aron a. su eompahero. 

The word a (to) then is employed in Spanish as in English 
after verbs indicative of motion, as voy u Madrid, I am going 
to Madrid; and in Spanish, though not in English, after verbs 
that have a transitive meaning — verbs that indicate something 
passing between an actor and an object : as asesinaron a su 
compakero, they killed their companion. The a being however 
employed only when the object happens to be a person. 



39 
XVII. 
Asesinaron al que sali6 I They assassinated him who 

They assassinated to he who went out J went out. 

The use of a after transitive verbs being understood, if the 
student calls to mind what was said in § XI. of a and el, 
when they come together, the value of the al in the above 
sentence will be perfectly comprehended. The above sentence 
informs the student that in writing Spanish he must employ a 
after transitive verbs having persons for their objects; and 
also reminds him, that when a and el come together, they are 
for the sake of euphony to be converted into al. 

XVIII. 

^Aqueaspira? 1 To what does he aspire ? 

To what aspires? J x 

i Ah ! lo que es el mundo ? . Ah ! what is the world. 

We have already stated that there are none of those service- 
able little words in Spanish, such as do and did, that the 
English employ in asking questions. We have also already 
stated (§ XII.), that a question cannot be put in Spanish as 
in English, by placing the pronoun after the verb, as in the 
phrase did he do that ? because pronouns are rarely employed 
in Spanish, except as we have said in cases where great 
emphasis was sought after. The only way to put the question 
we have mentioned in Spanish, is by simply saying did that, 
and putting a note of interrogation after it, thus : hizo esto ? 
It follows from this, that in reading, until the eye arrives at 
a note of interrogation, no one can tell whether he has to deal 
with an affirmation or an interrogation. To remedy this incon- 
venience a note of interrogation is put at the beginning as 
well as the end of a question, with this distinction, that the 
preceding one is inverted. This is always done when the 
question involves a great many words, or when it occurs in the 
body of a subject like that we have quoted. Under any other 
circumstances, however, the inverted note of interrogation 
might be very well dispensed with, being of course unnecessary. 
The same remark applies to the note of admiration in excla- 
mative and interjective sentences. 



40 



XIX. 
Preciso es 



Preciso es j It is necessary. 

Necessary it is J J 

| I may. 



Pueda yo 
May I 



Cuando los viajantes hallaron un tesoro ? j When did the travel- 
When the travellers found they a treasure J lers find a treasure ? 



La came envenenada. 



J The poisoned meat. 



It will be observed that the order of the words in the 
above phrases is not precisely the same in both languages. In 
the collocation of the words in a sentence, the Spanish syntax 
bears some resemblance to that of the Latin language. A 
word, for example, may be placed out of its usual position in 
a sentence, in order to bring it more into view, or give it more 
emphasis and of two related words, the most important is 
commonly placed first, as in the case of preciso es, " necessary 
it is :" pueda yo, "may I ;" la came envenenada, " the meat 
poisoned," in the text. 

In most cases, the words in a Spanish sentence will admit 
of the same order as the English one. It is immaterial how 
the words arc 1 arranged, so long as the meaning of the phrase 
is clearlyexhibited. It is just as good Spanish to snyes preciso, 
as preciso at, and i/o pueda, as pueda yo. The place of the 
adjective, however, is usually after the noun it accompanies: 
we must say la came envenenada, " the meat poisoned," and 
not la envenenada came, u the poisoned meat." 

XX. 

La came envenenada .... The poisoned meat. 

We have already said (§ V.) that the article in Spanish 
changes its form according as the word it determines is sin- 
gular or plural, masculine or feminine. The adjectives also 
change their termination under the same circumstances. In 
the sentence quoted above, the word came, meat, is feminine, 
and the adjective is also feminine, in order to agree with it. 



41 

Had the word cavne been masculine, the word poisoned would 
have been written envenenado, a being the feminine and o the 
masculine terminations of adjectives. To express the plural 
number, an s as in English is added to the singular. Thus, the 
poisoned traveller, would be written, el viajante envenenado ; 
the poisoned travellers, los viajantes envenenados. The stu- 
dent will require to bear in mind these rules in writing the 
exercises that follow. 

XXI. 

Tenemos un companero . . We have a companion. 
Uno de los tres salio . . . One of the three went out. 
Una idea semejante ... A similar idea. 

The word " un " one, like the article and the rest of the 
adjectives, changes its form according to the gender of the 
noun that follows it ; " un" is used before a noun in the mas- 
culine ; "uno" before a word that has no actual substantive 
meaning, as is the case of the word three in the second of the 
above sentences ; " una " before a noun in the feminine. We 
do not consider it necessary here to give rules for ascertaining 
the gender of nouns. We have already stated that the learner 
will be able to know the gender of those in the text, by ob- 
serving the gender of the article placed before them. 

XXII. 

Ejecuto su proyecto ... He executed his project. 

The word su is an adjective in Spanish, and takes an 5 if the 
noun that follows it be plural. Thus he executed his projects, 
would be ejecuto sus proyectos. 

XXIII. 

Le asesinaron .... They assassinated him. 

The pronouns, la, her or it, and le, him or it, are usually 
placed before the verbs of which they are the objects, as in the 
phrase given above. This is one of the principles in which the 
Spanish construction differs materially from that of the English. 



42 

The student would do well to mark this peculiarity, as it con- 
stitutes a characteristic feature of the language. We may 
here direct attention to the orthography of the word assassi- 
nated as it is presented by the two languages. The word it- 
self is derived from a celebrated knight errant society that 
flourished in the Middle Ages, and consequently has the same 
origin in both languages. To begin with its termination ; we 
have in the English form, ed. This syllable is appended to a 
verb to express the past state of an action ; in the Spanish 
word we have on, which may be considered as a personal ter- 
mination, or as expressing, as in English, an act finished. 
Next to the ed we have the letter t, which appears to be a 
favourite termination of the infinitive of an English verb. In 
its place we have r, in the Spanish word, which is the termi- 
nating letter of every infinitive in the language. There re- 
mains then the body of the word. The chief difference in this 
is, that in the English form there are two pairs of s'es, and 
only single ones in the Spanish form of the word. The reason 
of this difference in the orthography of the word in question is 
that the Spanish language has been carefully weeded of all 
impurities and redundances, and the English language has not. 
In no case are double letters introduced into a Spanish word, 
unless the pronunciation of that word absolutely require them. 
The annoyance experienced by a foreigner in attempting to 
comprehend the use of the double letters in English is very 
great. In learning Spanish no such difficulty is to be en- 
countered ; any one who can pronounce the words tolerably 
well can also spell them correctly ; the pronunciation in 
Spanisli is always a sure guide in this respect. 



XXIV. 

Al comerla On eating it. 

Although, as we have said, the pronouns le and la usually 
precede the verb, they sometimes follow it, as in the instance 
cited above ; when they do so, they are invariably attached to 
the verb itself, so that pronoun and verb have the appear- 
ance of one entire word ; sometimes even two or three pronouns 
are appended in this way to a verb. This circumstance is apt 



43 

to cause some trouble to the student at the outset ; a little at- 
tention however will enable him to detect the prononns, and 
so comprehend their, value. In English, although the pro- 
nouns are always written apart from the verb, they are usually 
pronounced with it. The phrase, I know him, for instance, 
is colloquially pronounced I know'm ; I say it, I say't ; and 
so on. This is also the case with the Spanish. 

XXV. 

A fin de que .... So that. 

De consiguiente . . . Consequently. 

En seguida .... Afterwards. 

In all languages several little words are found congregated 
together, employed in joining sentences or in giving greater 
emphasis to certain expressions. If we were to render each 
of these little words into another language by the word equi- 
valent to it when it is found alone, we should, in general, 
entirely destroy the meaning of the passage, and have an 
assemblage of words which possessed no visible association. 
The English phrase by and by is one of the combinations 
to which we allude. The meaning of by and by is soon ; but 
if we were to translate by and by literally word for word into 
any other language, the idea of the word soon would never be 
perceptible. Wherever such combinations as these occur, 
they must be regarded as single words, and treated accordingly. 
In Spanish, a Jin deque, de consiguiente, and en seguida, are 
combinations of the class to which we allude, and must be 
rendered in English by a single word, or a combination equi- 
valent in value. The student must not expect to find in Eng- 
lish an exact equivalent for every Spanish word. The com- 
binations of words of which we speak embarrass the student 
more than anything else when he begins to translate ; but as 
they are of frequent occurrence, with a little attention their 
value and use will soon be acquired. 



44 

PRONUNCIATION. 

ACCENT. 

In spoken language there are two kinds of accent ; the stress 
of the voice required on some particular syllable of each word, 
and the local modification of sound in speech peculiar to every 
community. The first kind of accent is subject to fixed rules, 
or is reducible in every language to certain principles ; but 
the second wo cannot undertake even to define — local accent 
is something infinitely beyond our grasp. The ear itself is 
inadequate to convey to the mind an exact notion of local 
accent. There arc Spaniards in London who have been 
endeavouring for nearly half-a-score of years to seize the 
English accent, and who are yet very far from having accom- 
plished their object : and we may add, that there are natives 
of the English provinces who have spent half their life-time 
in London, and who nevertheless are almost totally devoid of 
that cadensation of voice peculiar to natives of the Metropolis. 

We cannot therefore undertake to teach the local accents of 
the Spanish language: but the student need not be dismayed by 
this circumstance. There are many worse accents of Spanish 
than an English one. We can assure the English student 
that his intonation of Spanish will he much more agreeable to 
the ears of the elite at the Court of Madrid, than that of the 
natives of many of the southern and western provinces of the 
Peninsula itself. 

A correct accentuation of each individual word is however 
an essential feature in its pronunciation : without attending to 
this, in speaking Spanish, the student will never be able to 
make himself understood in the language. In English, a place 
abounding in apples might be said to be apply, and such a 
word being B derivative of apple, must be accented in the same 
way ; but the word apply if accented on the last syllable would 
then become a verb, and signify to make a demand or an 
inquiry. It an Englishman were to say, " I apply to you," and 
accentuate the word apply on the first syllable, as in the word 



45 

apple, very likely nobody would understand him ; or if he 
were to say " that tree is apply," and accentuate the word 
" apply " on the last syllable, as in deny, he would most as- 
suredly be laughed at, and certainly not without good reason. 

In Spanish, an attention to the accentuation is as necessary 
as in English, if not more so. A Spanish word, though in- 
differently pronounced, if correctly accentuated will always be 
recognised; but if badly pronounced, and incorrectly accented 
into the bargain, its recognition would be altogether a miracle. 

It would be quite possible to give a set of rules that 
would embrace the accentuation of every word in the Spanish 
language, and these after all be neither very prolix nor very 
complicated ; we do not think however that absolute perfection 
in this particular is attainable by the student at the outset ; he 
must first get familiar with certain general notions on the 
subject, aud afterwards gradually become acquainted with the 
detail. We shall therefore limit ourselves to such general 
unexceptionable rules as may be easily borne in mind, and 
will enable the learner to accentuate correctly the great mass 
of the words. In order to simplify this matter as much as 
possible, we shall divide all the words in the language into three 
classes, as follows : — 

1st. Words ending in a single vowel. 
2d. Words ending in a consonant. 
3d. Words ending in two vowels. 

The first class of words, that is, those ending in a single 
vowel, are accented on the penultimate; that is, the first syllable 
from the last, as vi-ach-an'-te, a traveller; te-so'-ro, a treasure. 

The second class of words, that is, those ending in a con- 
sonant, have the accent on the last syllable, as comprar', to 
buy ; comer', to eat„ 

When any of the two first classes of words (involving 
nearly two-thirds of the entire vocabulary) are not accented in 
accordance with the rules we have laid down, good writers 
invariably place an accent on the syllable whereon the stress of 
the voice should fall. This is the case with the words hollar on, 
dijeron, etc., which being exceptions to the rules we have given, 
have accents always printed with them in correct editions of 
the good authors. So far then as the two first classes of words 



46 

are concerned, we have given rules that are almost infallible, 
since in the event of there being any words that depart from 
them, they have accents placed upon them. 

There remains the third class ; that is, of words ending in 
two vowels. 

In Spanish, two vowels at the end of a word are sometimes 
pronounced like ia in the English word Britannia, by one single 
emission of the voice, and consequently with the preceding 
consonant form one syllable ; in which case the two vowels are 
considered as one, and the word is accented on the penultimate 
in the same manner as words ending in a single vowel. 
Sometimes the two final vowels are each distinctly enunciated, 
like ca in the English word idea ; in which case each vowel 
forms a syllable, and the Spanish word is then accented on 
the first of the two. The difficulty with regard to the third 
class of words, is to know which of these two categories any 
particular word comes under; whether the two vowels form 
one syllable, or a diphthong. 

We might give rules that would enable the student to 
determine this point, but this would lead us into a detail that it 
is the object of our method to avoid. We shall give simply 
the two following gem-nil rules, which, if attended to. will 
enable the learner to accentuate accurately the great proportion 

of tin 1 third class of words. 

1. If a word ending in two vowels is a noun, accentuate the 

syllable preceding them. a8 (Ui-s( ii'-cid. 

2. When the word ending in two vowels is a verb, accentuate 

the first of the two vowel-, as lui-hi'-a. 

We have now given tin" student such rules as will enable 
him to accentuate the greater part of the Spanish words 
Correctly. In accentuating a word the student must, take its 
lingular form, an 8 added to a word to express plural does not 
affect the accent of tin- singular form. 

We may observe, in conclusion, that the perfection of the 
student in the pronunciation of the Spanish language depends 
very much upon his accentuation of the words. 



47 



COMPOSITION'. 



Bearing in mind what has been said of the structure of 
the language under the head Construction, in this and in 
the former lesson, the student will be able to render the fol- 
lowing English sentences and fragments into Spanish. As in 
the case of the former exercises on Composition, a translation 
of the following will be given as a Reading Exercise in the 
next lesson. 



Three travellers died. 

They found a treasure on the 
road. 

They said among themselves 
(si) we are hungry. 

One went away to buy some- 
thing to eat. 

He said to himself, I am going 
to poison the meat. 

He put in operation (obra) 
his project. 

The other two assassinated 
him when he returned 
with the poisoned meat. 

They remained (quedaron) 
masters of the prize ; but 
both died on eating of the 
poisoned meat. 

The one who went away said 
to himself, I am going to 
act so, that (a hacer que) 
my companions may die, 
in order that I may enjoy 
alone the treasure ; but 
when he came back, the 
other two, who during 
his absence had conceived 
a project of enjoying the 
treasure between them- 
selves, assassinated him. 

The project was verified ; but 
miserable is he who as- 
pires to riches ; the three 



died, and the treasure 
and the poisoned meat 
remained masters of them. 

Miserable are those who con- 
ceive the idea of enjoying 
riches. 

The philosopher who was 
passing that way did not 
go away miserable on 
eating the poisoned meat. 

The three conceived a similar 
project, the three died, 
and the philosopher and 
the world remained mas- 
ters of the prize. 

When he who put poison in 
the meat came back, his 
companions assassinated 
him, in order to enjoy 
alone the treasure. 

When we are hungry, we 
must buy something to 
eat. 

When they killed their com- 
panion they died. 

One of the three must go to 
Madrid. 

Must a traveller go to Madrid 
in order to buy poison ? 

I am going to Madrid. 

He came back from Madrid. 

He executed his project in 
Madrid. 



48 



Did he execute his project in 
Madrid ? 

In what manner did he put 
poison in the meat ? 

In what manner did a philo- 
sopher cry out ? 

In what manner was it accom- 
plished ? 

What did he say? 

What did they say ? 

What did they conceive ? 

What did they find ? 

What was verified ? 

Who went away ? 

Who came back ? 

Who said that ? 

Who pat poison in the meat ? 

Who conceived a project ? 

Who assassinated him ? 

Who died ? 

Whom did they assassinate ? 



I am going to poison three 

philosophers. 
I am going to buy something 

to eat. 
1 am going to enjoy the world. 
I am going to eat the meat. 
When did they conceive that 

project ? 
When did they assassinate 

him ? 
When did he come back ? 
When did he go away ? 
Where did they conceive that 

project ? 
Where did he cry out ? 
Where did they die ? 
Where did they assassinate 

him ? 
Where am I going ? 
Where was he passing ? 



This being OUT concluding exercise on Composition, we may 
observe that a general view of the structure of the language 
has been given ; the student has been shown how words being 
known he should make use of them, in order to express him- 
self in Spanish. The manner of asking a question, and fram- 
ing a reply, has been pointed out. as also how to construct a 
negation or express a doubt ; and these are the points wherein 

languages commonly most essentially differ. If the student 
has attended to the rules of structure deduced from the text, 

and written the sentences given as an exercise upon them, he 
should now be able, with the aid of a dictionary and table of 
the accidents (l f the Spanish verbs, to write or express himself 
in the language with sufficient propriety. 



LESSON FOURTH. 



To the Learner. 

We would here again remind the learner of the advantage to 
be derived from going over the exercises of the preceding lesson 
before entering upon those of a new one ; this will insure, at 
least, a much greater degree of accuracy in the pronunciation. 



READING. 

REPETITION. 



As in the former lessons, the following exercise in reading 
consists of a translation of the phrases given in English in the 
preceding lesson to be rendered into Spanish. 

Tres viajantes murieron. Hallfciron un tesoro en 
el camino. Dijeron entre si tenemos hambre. Uno 
salio a comprar algo que comer. Dijo asimismo; 
voy & envenenar la carne. Puso en obra su proyecto. 
Los otros dos le asesinaron cuando volvio con la carne 
envenenada. Quedaron duenos del hallazgo pero 
murieron tambien comiendo de la carne envenenada. 
El que salio dijo asimismo ; voy & hacer que mis 
comparieros mueran a fin de que pueda yo disfrutar 
solo del hallazgo ; mas cuando volvio le asesinaron 
los otros dos que durante su ausencia concibieron 
entre si una idea de disfrutar del tesoro : La idea se 
verifico ; pero desgraciado del que aspira a riquezas, 



50 

murieroii los tres y el tesoro y la carne envenenada 
quedaron dueiios de si. 

Desgraciados los que concibieron la idea de dis- 
frutar riquezas. El filosofo que pasaba por alia no 
salio desgraciado comiendo de la carne envenenada. 
Los tres concibieron una idea semejante, los tres 
murieron y el filosofo y el mundo quedaron dueiios 
del hallazgo. Cuando el que puso veneno en la 
carne volvio sus compaiieros le asesinaron a fin de 
disfrutar solos del tesoro. Cuando tenemos hambre 
es preciso comprar algo que comer. Cuando asesi- 
naron a su compaiiero murieron. Es preciso que 11110 
de los tres vaya a Madrid. i Es preciso que un 
viajante vaya a Madrid a fin de comprar veneno? 
Voy a Madrid. Volvi6 a Madrid, i De que manera 
puso veneno en la carne ? i% De que manera esclam6 
un filosofo? jDe que manera se verified ? i Que 
dijo? i Que dijeron? $ Que concibieron? i Que 
liallaron? i Que se verified ? l Quien salio ? I Quien 
volvi6? 4 Quien dijo csto? j Quien puso veneno 
en la carne? <j. Quienes concibieron un proyecto ? 
iQnienea 1cm asesinaron? ;. Quien es dijeron esto ? 
I Quienes murieron ? Voy a envenenar a tres 
fi!6sofos. Voy a comprar algo que coiner. Voy a 
disfrutar el mundo. Voy a comer la carne. £ Cuando 
concibieron este proyecto? i, Cuando le asesinaron? 
I Cuando volvio ? J Cuando salio ? 



51 



BEADING. 



Generally speaking, the construction of all the modern 
languages of Europe is very much alike : there is a chain of 
resemblance in this particular running through them all, linking 
them together, as it were, in one great family, and affording 
abundant proof of their common origin. The lapse of ages 
has however wrought great changes amongst them. In the 
language of every-day life expressions have arisen, amongst 
each individual community, which present no point of resem- 
blance with those of any other. In English the phrase, " How 
do you do " may be cited as a familiar example of an expression 
of this kind ; for were we to translate " How do you " literally 
into any other language whatever, we should only produce a 
jumble of words, without the smallest particle of sense or 
meaning. Again, these kinds of homely expressions have for 
the sake of convenience been in many instances curtailed of 
their fair proportions, so that it is often impossible to discern the 
words of which they were originally compounded. In English , 
the phrase "good lady" has been for this reason smoothed down 
to " goody," and " God be with you " into " good b'ye ;" and 
in all the other languages the same causes, as may be supposed, 
have produced the same effects. The local expressions that 
have so arisen, and their abbreviations, are called by the English 
grammarians idioms ; and being more employed than anything 
else in the common intercourse of society, it is necessary that 
the student of a language should know, as soon as possible, 
something about the characteristic expressions peculiar to it. 
We shall now give, therefore, some of the most useful or most 
common colloquial phrases of the Spanish language ; and as 
in the case of the text of the previous lessons, we shall after- 
wards give the exact English equivalent of each word, together 
with its accentuation and pronunciation, as also an explanation 
of any difficulty that may occur. 



52 



INTRODUCTORY PHRASES. 



ri Habla V. Castellano ? . . 

Un poco 

Entiendo la lengua Espariola, 

pero no puedo hablarla. 
<: Caballero es V. Espanol ? . 
Si seiior, para servir a V. 
<i Desde cuando se halla V. en 

Inglaterra ? 
£ Que tal halla V. Londres ? 
Me hara V. mucho favor en 

hablar Espanol. 
Le entiendo a V. perfecta- 

mente. 
Sirvase V. disimularmelo . . 
No he entendido lo que V. ha 

dicho. 
Tenga V. la bondad de re- 

petir lo que V. ha dicho. 

<; Fuma V. ? 

I Quiere V. un cigarro ? . . 

Si V. gusta 

Gracias 



Do you speak Spanish ? 

A little. 

I understand Spanish, but do 

not speak it. 
Are you a Spaniard, sir ? 
Yes, sir, I am. 
How long have you been in 

England ? 
How do you like London ? 
You will oblige me if you talk 

to me in Spanish. 
I understand you perfectly 

well . 
Excuse me. 
I have not understood what 

you said. 
Be kind enough to repeat 

what you said. 
Do you smoke ? 
Will you have a cigar ? 
If you please. 
Thank you. 



RECOGNITION. 



Buenos dias, caballero . . 
I Como lo pasa V.? . . . 
Sin novedad,para lo que guste 

mandar. 
Me alcgro mucho de vcr a Y. 
Que* hermosa mariana . . . 
Hacc mucho frio .... 
Hace malos tiempos durante 

algunos dias. 

Ciertamente 

I Quo noticias tenemos 

Nada so 

f ; Cuando vendra V. a verme ? 

Alguno de estos dias . . . 
Caballeros, felices noches tcn- 

gan V. V. 
A<lin> sonorcs 



Good morning, sir. 
How do you do ? 
Pretty well, thank you. 

I am glad to see you. 

There is a beautiful morning. 

It is rather cold. 

The weather has been shock- 
ing bad lately. 

Very. 

Are there any news ? 

Nothing particular. 

When are you coming to see 
me? 

One of these days. 

Gentlemen, I wish a good 
evening. 

Good bye, gentlemen. 



53 



GENERAL. 



<; Que hora es ? . . . . 

Las ocho, poco mas 6 menos 

<; De veras ? . . 

Si por cierto 

Muchisimas gracias 

Cara a cara . . 

Chanzas aparte . 

Ir pasando . . 

Tengo que hacer 

Me he equivocado 

Tiene V. razon . 

Perfectamente . 

Tenga V. la bondad de de- 

cirme caballero. 
£ Como se llama esto en Es- 

panol ? 

Ya voy 

Ya lo se 

Ya lo sabra V 

Venir a las manos .... 
A la Espanola ..... 

Tonteria 

<; Que es esto ? 

No se 

Creo que si 

Causa admiracion .... 
(i Lo cree V. caballero ? . . 

Si . . . 

Aqui se habla Espaiiol . . 



What o'clock is it ? 

About eight. 

Is it? 

I think so. 

Thank you. 

Face to face. 

Joking aside. 

To make shift. 

I am busy. 

I am wrong. 

You are right. 

Exactly. 

Have the goodness to tell me, 

sir. 
What do you call that in 

Spanish ? 
I am coming. 
I know it already. 
You will soon know it. 
To come to blows. 
In the Spanish fashion. 
What nonsense. 
What is that ? 
I do not know. 
I suppose so. 
That is good. 
Do you think so, sir ? 
I do. 
Spanish spoken here. 



A los pies de V. Sefiora . . 
Beso a V. la mano, caballero. 
<; Es este el camino de Madrid? 
<: Por donde se va a la calle de 
Alcala? 

Mozo, un cafe Waiter, a cup of coffee. 

^Quejenerosde vino tiene V? What kind of wine have you 



Good morning, madam. 
Your servant, sir. 
Is this the road to Madrid ? 
Where is Alcala-street ? 



Traiga V. una botella de Jerez. 
Quisiera un vaso de aguar- 
diente. 



got? 

Bring a bottle of sherry. 
I want a glass of brandy. 



54 

Deme V. un par de chuletas. Give me a mutton chop. 

Deme V. un par de huevos . Give me an egg. 

Sirvase V. traerme un poco Some bread, please. 

de pan. 

Con muchisimo gusto . . . With much pleasure. 

^Dondeestalacasadecorreos? Where is the post-office ? 

Deme V. un real de naranjas. Give me twopence worth of 

oranges. 

t Tiene V. cigarros ? . . . Have you any cigars ? 

£ Quanto vale la docena ? . W r hat is the dozen ? 

Una peseta A shilling. 

Son carisimos They are dear. 

I Puede V. darme cambios de Can you give me change for 

un duro ? half-a-crown ? 

<: Que quiere V? . . . . What do you want? 

I Entiende V. el Ingles ? . Do you understand English ? 

No se absolutamente hablar el I do not speak Spanish. 

Espanol. 

Yo soy Ingles I am an Englishman. 

Viva la reyna muchos aiios . God save the Queen. 



PRONUNCIATION. 



Castcllano ? Un poco. Entiendo la 
Ab'-la oos'ty. Cas-tel-ya'-no oon po'-co. cnt-yen'-do la 

lengua Espanqla pero no puedo hablarla. << Caballero, 

lcn'-gwa Espan-yo'-la pay'ro no pwe-da ab-lar'-Ia. Cab-al-ye'-ro, 

cs Y. Bspanol ? Si senor, para servir a V. 
ais oos'-ty Es-pan-yol' ? See sain'-yor, pa ra ser'-becr ah oos'-ty. 

^Desde cuando Be lialla V. en Inglaterra? Que 
Days'-dc kwan'-do say al'-ya oos'-ty en Eengla-ter'-ra ? Kay 

tal lialla \'. Londres? Me hara V. mucho* favor, 
tal al-ya oos'-ty Lon'-dres? May ah'-ra oos'-ty mootch'-o fah-bor / 

en bablar Bspanol. Le entiendo ;i A 7 . per£ectamente. 

en ab-lar' Es-panyol. Lay cut -yen- do ah oos'-ty per-l'ec-ta-men'-ty. 

Sirvase V. disimularmclo. No he entendido lo que 

Seer-ba'-say oos'-ty dee-see-moo-Iar -inay-lo. No ai en-tain-dco'-do lo kay 

X. ha dicho. Tenga V. la bondad de repetir 

oos-ty ah deetch'o tain'-ga oos'-ty lah bon-dad' day rai-pay-tecr' 

* Ch in Spanish is Bounded like ch in the English words churefa and 
ditch. 



55 

lo que V. ha dicho. <j Fuma V.? £ Quiere V. un 

lo kay oos'-ty ah deetch'-o. Foo'-mah oos'-ty ? K-ya'-iry oos'-ty oon 

cigarro? Si V. gusta. Gracias. Buenos dias, 
thee-gar'-ro ? See oos'-ty goos'-ty. Grath'-yas. JBwe'-nos d-yas 

Caballero. <? Como lo pasa V. ? Sin novedad, para 
Ca-bal-ye'-ro. Co'-mo lo pa'-sa oos'-ty? Seen no-baid-ad' pa-ra 

lo que guste mandar. Me alegro mucho de ver 
lo kay goos'-ty man-dar'. May alaig'-ro mootch'-o day bair 

a V. Que hermosa manana. Hace mucho frio. 

ah oos'-ty. Kay air-mo'-sa man-ya'-na. Ah'-thay mootch'-o free'-o. 

Hace malos tiempos durante algunos dias. 

Ah'-thay mah'-los t-yem'-pos doo-ran'-ty al-goo'-nos d'-yas. 

Ciertamente. <; Que noticias tenemos ? Nada se. 
The-yer-ta-men'-ty. Kay no-teeth'-yas tay-nay'-mos ? Nah'-da say. 

<: Cuando vendra V. a verme ? Alguno de estos 
Kwan'-do bain-drah' oos'-ty ah bair'-my ? Al-goo'-no day ais'-tos 

dias. Caballeros, felices noches tengan VV. Adios 
d'yas. Ca-bal-ye'ros, fai-lee'-thys notch'-es tain'-gan oos'-ted-ais ad'-yos 

senores. <j Que hora es ? Las ocho, poco mas 6 

sain-yo'-res. Kay oh'-ra ais ? Las otch'-o po'-co mas o 

menos. <}De veras? Si por cierto. Muchisimas 
may'-nos Day bay'-ras ? See por the-yer'-to. Mootch-ee'-see-mas 

gracias. Cara a cara. Chanzas aparte. Ir pasando. 
grath'-yas. Ca'-ra ah ca'-ra. Chan'-thas a-par'-ty Eer pa-san'-do. 

Tengo que hacer. Me he equivocado. Tiene V. 
Tain'-go kay ah-ther'. May ai ai-kee-bo-ca'-do. T-ye'-ny oos'-ty 

razon. Perfectamente. Tenga V. la bondad de 
ra-thon'. Pair-fec-ta-men'-ty. Tain'-ga oos'-ty lah bon-dad' day 

decirme, Caballero. <s Como se llama esto en 
day-theer'-my Ca-bal-ye'-ro. Co-mo say el-ya'-ma es'-to ain 

Espanol? Ya voy. Ya lo se. Ya lo sabra V. 
Es-pan-yol'? Yah boy. Yah lo say. Yah lo sab-rah' oos'-ty 

Venir a las manos. A la Espanola. Tonteria. Que 
Bay-neer' ah las mah'-nos. Ah lah Es-pan-yo'-la Ton-ter-ee'-a Kay 

es esto? No se. Creo que si Causa admiracion. 
ais es-to ? No say. Cray'-o kay see. Cow'-sah ad-meer ath-yon'. 

^Lo cree V. Caballero? Si. Aqui se habla 
Lo cray'-ai oos'-ty Ca-bal-ye'-ro? See. Ah-kee say ab'-la 



56 
Espafiol. A los pies de V. Senora. Beso a V. 

Es-pau-yol'. Ah los p'-yes day oos'-ty. Sain-yo'-ra. Bay'-so ah oos'-ty 

la mano, Caballero. <; Es este el camino de Madrid ? 

lah ma'-no, Ca-bal-ye'-ro. Es es'-ty ail ca-mee'-no day Mad-reed'? 

<i Por donde se va a la calle de Alcala ? Mozo, 
Por don'-dy say bah ah lah cal'-ye day Al-ca-lah ? Moth'-o, 

un cafe. ,; Que jeneros de vino tiene V.? Traiga 
oon ca-fy'. Kay ^ai-nai-ros* day bee'-no t-ye'-ny oos'-ty? Tra-ee-ga 

V. una botella de Jerez. Quisiera un vaso de 
oos'-ty oo'-na botyl-ya day ^e-raith'. Kees-yai'-ra oon ba'-so day 

aguardiente. Deme V. un par de chuletas. Deme 
ag-ward-yen'-ty. Day'-my oos'-ty oon par day choo-le'-tas. Day '-my 

V. un par de huevos. Sirvase V. traerme un poco 
oos'-ty oon par day we'-bos. Seer'-ba-sy oos'-ty tra-yair'-my oon po'-co 

de pan. Con muchisimo gusto. <i Donde esta la 
day pan. Con mootch-ee'-see-nio goos'-to. Don'-dy es'-ta la 

casa de correos ? Deme V. un real de naranjas. 
ca'-sa day cor-ray-os ? Day'-my oos'-ty oon ray-al' day na-ran'^a3. 

(i Tiene V. cigarros? <; Quanto vale la docena? Una 

Ty'-eny oos'-ty thee-gar'-ros? Kwan-to ba'-ly lah do-thay'-na? Oo'-na 

peseta. Son carisimos. ^Puede V. darrne cambios de 
pay-say'-ta. Son ca-rce'-see-mos Pwe'-dah oos'-ty dar'-my cam'-b-yos day 

un duro? <; Que quiere V.? ^Entiende V. el 
oon doo'-ro? Kay kee-ai'-ry oos'-ty? Ent-yeu'-dy oos'-ty el 

Ingles? No se absolutamente hablar el Espafiol. Yo 
Eeng-les. No say ab-so-loo-ta-men'-ty ab-lar' el Es-pan-yol'. Yo 

soy Ingles. [Viva la Reyna muchos aiios ! 
soy Eeng-les. Bce-ba lah Ray'-ua mootch'-os an'-yos ! 



TRANSLATION. 

^Habla V. Castellano? Un poco. Entiendo la 
Speaks his worship Castilian ? A little. I understand the 

lengua Espanola, pero no puedo hablarla. ^Caballero, 
language Spanish, but no can I to speak it. Sir, 

• As we find the eli given in Italics to represent the sound of the 
Spanish j is apt to mislead the student, we shall in future represent the 
sound by the Greek letter x* and refer the student to the description of 
the sound given under the bead " Pronunciation." The sound in ques- 
tion cannot be exhibited by any combination of English letters. 



es V. Espaiiol? Si Senor, para servir a V. 
is his worship Spanish ? Yes Sir, for to serve to his worship. 

^Desde cuando se halla V. en Inglaterra? ^ Que 

Since when himself finds his worship in England ? What 

tal halla V. Londres? Me hara 

such (sort of a thing) finds his worship, London ? Me will do 

V. mucho favor en hablar Espaiiol? Le 

his worship much pleasure in to speak Spanish ? To him 

entiendo a V. perfectamente. Sirvase V. 

I understand to his worship perfectly. Let serve himself his worship 

disimularmelo. No he entendido lo que V. ha 

to excuse me it. Not I have understood the what his worship has 

dicho. Tenga V. la bondad de repetir lo 

said. Let have his worship the goodness of to repeat the 

que V. ha dicho. <;Fuma V.? £ Quiere V. 

what his worship has said. Smokes his worship ? Wishes his worship 

un cigarro? Si V. gusta. Gracias. Buenos dias, 
a cigar? If his worship pleases. Thanks. Good days, 

Caballero. ^Como lo pasa V.? Sin novedad, para 

Sir How it passes his worship? Without alteration, for 

lo que guste mandar. Me alegro mucho de ver a 

it that may please to command. Myself I rejoice much of to see to 

V. Que herraosa manana. Hace mucho frio. 
his worship. What (a) charming morning. It makes much cold. 

Hace malos tiempos durante algunos dias. Ciertamente. 
It makes bad weathers during some days. Certainly. 

<iQue noticias tenemos? Nada se. ^Cuando vendra 
What news have we ? Nothing I know. When will come 

V. a, verme? Alguno de estos dias. Caballeros, 

his worship to to see me ? Some one of these days. Gentlemen, 

felices noches tengan V.V. Adios Senores. ^Que 
happy nights may have their worships. Good bye, Sirs. What 

hora es? Las ocho, poco mas 6 menos. ^De veras? 
hour is it? The eight, little more or less. Of truth? 

Si, por cierto. Muchisimas gracias. Cara a cara. Chanzas 
Yes, for certain. Many thanks. Face to face. Joking 

aparte. Ir pasando. Tengo que hacer. Me he 

aside. To go passing. I have what to do. Me I have 

H 



58 

equivocado. Tiene V. razon. Perfectamente. Tenga 
wrong. Has his worship reason. Perfectly. Let have 

V. la bondad de decirme, Caballero. ^ Como 
his worship the goodness of to tell me, Sir. How 

se llama esto en Espanol ? Ya voy. Ya lo 

itself calls this in Spanish ? Already I am goiug. Already it 

se Ya lo sabra V. Venir a las manos 

I know. Already it will know his worship. To come to the hands. 

A la Espariola. Tonteria. £ Que es esto? No so. 
To the Spanish. Nonsense. What is that ? Not I know 

Creo que si. Causa admiracion. ^Lo cree V. 

I believe that yes. It causes admiration. It believe I his worship. 

Caballero. Si. Aqui se habla Espanol. A los 
Sir. Yes. Here itself speaks Spanish. At the 

pies de V. Senora. Beso a Y. la 

feet of her worship. Madam. I kiss to his worship the 

mano, Caballero. i Es este el camino de Madrid ? <; Por 
hand, Sir. Is this the road of Madrid ? By 

donde se vii a la calle de Alcala ? Mozo, un 
where itself goes to the street of Alcala ? Waiter, a 

Cftfe. (>Que jeneros de vino tiene V.? Traiga 

coll'ee. What kinds of wine has his worship ? Let bring 

V. una botella de Jerez. Quisiera un vaso 
his worship a bottle of Sherry. He should like a glass 

de aguardiente. Dome V. un par de 

of ardent water. Let him give me his worship a couple of 

chuletas. Dome V. un par de huevos. 

mutton chops. Let him give me his worship a pair of eggs. 

Sirvasc V. traerme un poco de pan. Con 

Lit serve himself his worship to bring mo a little of bread. With 

muchisimo gusto. <: Donde esta la casa de correos ? 
very much pleasure. Where is the house of couriers? 

Deme V. un real de naranjas. ^ Tiene V. 

Lit give me his worship a real* of oranges. Has his worship 

cigarros? <; Quanto vale la docena? Una peseta* 
cigars ? How much is worth the dozen ? A peseta.f 

• A Real is a current silver coin, about the value of twopence -halfpenny. 

f A Peseta i^ a current silver cniu. value about iiiiicpencc. 



59 

Son carisimos. ^Puede V. darme cambios de 

They are very dear. Can his worship to give me change of 



Yin 



duro? <iQue quiere V.? <iEntiende V. 



a duro?* What wants his worship? Understands his worship 

el Ingles ? No se absolutamente hablar el Espafiol . 

the English ? Not I know absolutely to speak the Spanish. 

Yo soy Ingles. jViva la Reyna muchos afios! 
I am English. May live the Queen many years ! 



In our explanation of the nature of an idiom, we have 
prepared the student to expect some singularities in a literal 
translation of them. Perhaps, after all, some of the Spanish 
local expressions may appear rather odd, but not more so than 
such English phrases as " How d'ye do," and " What's 
o'clock," would appear to a Spaniard, were they anatomised 
in the same way. 



CONSTRUCTION. 
XXVI. 



Quisiera un 


vaso 


de 


He should like a 


glass 


of 


aguardiente. 






brandy. 







I want a glass of brandy. 



In the colloquial language of polite society, a person, when 
he requires any service from another, speaks of himself, as if 
it were of some one else he were talking ; thus, in going into 
a coffee-house, and asking for refreshment, a polite Spaniard 
would not say, " I should like so and so," but " He should 
like so and so;" as in the case of the phrase given above. And 
in the same way is it not the fashion in Madrid, except in rare 
cases, to thou or you any body : a Castilian would not say, 
" How is your father," but " How is his father ; como esta 
su padre." This mode of expression, it will be observed, 
softens down a question, and gives a greater air of courtesy to 
an inquiry, than the English you, even although the you is a 
departure from grammar in deference to politeness. 

* A Duro is a current silver coin, value about four shillings. 



60 

XXVII. 
Castellano?) Do you speak Spanish ? 

Speaks his worship Castihan ) J r r 

Caballeros, felices noches \ 
G ^ lemen ' C " g DightS ( Good m S ht > gentlemen. 

have their worships. ) 

In looking over a Spanish author, in which the colloquial 
style is introduced, a person ignorant of the language will be 
surprised at the number of Vm's and Vmd's that present 
themselves in every page. These letters are a contraction of 
the words vuestra merced, which signify in English, when 
translated literally, your grace; or, as they are more generally 
translated, " your worship." They are equivalent in value to 
the English you, with this difference, that you, in English, 
requires a verb in the second person plural, whilst vuestra 
int nt (I requires a verb in the third person singular. Some 
writers use V . to represent vuestra merced; others Vra, and 
others again Ymd. We have preferred employing the V. only, 
and \'.\'. for the plural: firstly, because these are the forms 
most commonly used by good writers ; and secondly, for a 
reason which will appear in the sequel. 

In the pronunciation of vuestra merced, the word merced lias 
become totally obsolete, and the word vuestra has been dimi- 
nished into USti . These two syllables then are all that are em- 
ployed in pronouncing vuestra merced, and it is for this reason 
we employ V. in writing the contraction. It will be observed, 
that there is neither an ///, nor a >/, in the pronounced form, and 
consequently there is no necessity tor introducing these letters 
into the written form of the contraction. When more than one 
person is spoken of, the word ustedes is pronounced j this is 
presumed to mean your worships or your graces, and in the 
Word itself, the d of mercedes does appear. Still we think 
that V.Y. is as good a way of writing the contraction as 
Vmd's, and have therefore preferred employing the former. 



61 



PRONUNCIATION. 

SUMMARY. 

We have in detail given the pronunciation of the Spanish 
vowels and consonants ; we shall now give a synopsis of what 
has been said about thern, so as to serve as a table for the 
student to refer to when he is in doubt about the sound of a 
letter. For this purpose we shall employ the alphabet, placing 
opposite each letter its sound when it differs from that of the 
English. 

We may observe that the Spanish and English alphabets 
are virtually the same (they are both derived from one original, 
the Latin), and ought to be so. There is, however, in the 
English alphabet, a letter borrowed from the Goths, which 
of course does not exist in the Spanish — we mean the w ; and 
the c being found to answer all the purposes of the k, as well 
as its own, the latter has been expunged from the Spanish 
alphabet ; but, with these exceptions, the alphabets of the two 
languages are one and the same. 

We may repeat here, that the sound of the Spanish j is the 
only one that we cannot precisely represent, and is the only 
one that can cause the student any difficulty. It is essential 
that every one desirous of pronouncing the language accurately 
should know this sound. We have already said that even 
should the learner not have an opportunity of procuring the 
exact sound from a native of Spain, or from some one conver- 
sant with the language, there is a variety of other means by 
which he may become acquainted with it. It has been stated 
that it is the guttural sound given in some of the colleges to 
the Greek ^, and may consequently be obtained from the 
classic scholar ; that it is the sound of the Hebrew letter Heth ; 
that it is also the sound given by the Scottish to ich in the 
word Ballengeich ; the sound given by the elite to ich in the 
Prince of Wales' motto "ich dien;" and that it is the sound of 
ich in the German word " nicht;" and again the sound given by 
the Irish to the ich in their exclamation " oich!" The sound 
in question, therefore, is within the reach of every English- 
man who is desirous of obtaining it. 

We may observe that the r in Spanish has always its 
vibrating sound er-r-r-r, and is never transformed into the 
vowel «, as it frequently is by the natives of London. 



62 



Letters. 

A 
B 
C 

D 
E 
F 
G 



L 

M 
\ 
O 
P 

Q 
R 
s 
T 
U 
V 
X 
Y 
Z 



ah 

bay 

thay 

day 
ai 

effy 
xay 



atchy 
ee 

xotta 

elly 
emmy 

CllllV 

o 
pay 

koo 

crry 

tay 

oo 

oo 

ek] b 

ee 

theta 



SPANISH ALPHABET. 

Pronounced. 

Like a in the English word cart. 



Before e and i, like th in the word 
think ; before a, o, and u, like k. 

Like a in the English word made. 

As in the English word go, before 
the vowels a, o, u ; before e and i 
it has the guttural sound of the j, 
which we have already described. 

Always mute in Spanish. 

Like i in the English words ma- 
chine, pique. 

Has the guttural sound described 
in previous lesson. 



Like u in the English word rult 
Like b. 



Like the i in j>ii///< or machine. 
Like th in the English word think. 

DOUBLE LETTERS. 

Ch . thayatchy Like ch in the English words 
ditch ami church, 

LL . aiilyai . Like 11 in William. 

N . cnyai . Like gn in consign* t. 

These three compound letters having sounds peculiar to 
themselves, may he considered to form three more distinct 
Letters of the Spanish alphabet. 



LESSON EIFTH. 



BEADING. 



Having acquired the pronunciation of the language, some 
general notions of its structure, and an idea of the nature of 
its idioms, together with a multitude of words, the question 
now is, in what manner is proficiency best to be obtained ? 
We have said that in order to attain perfection in any 
language there must be much practice in writing it. To com- 
pose however, in a language, the words, or at least the great 
portion of the words, of that language must first be known. 
If, in order to write, the student had to look into his diction- 
ary for every word he wanted, it would be impossible for him 
to maintain anything like continuity in the train of his ideas, 
so that composition in such a case would eventually prove 
more a work of fatigue than profit. 

We think, and experience strengthens the supposition, that 
reading is the best means of attaining the object in question. 
By much attentive reading, joined to a judicious choice of 
authors, not only the words of a language and their desinences 
may be acquired, but also its genius and structure. Once able 
to read and translate freely a language, composition and con- 
versation will follow of themselves. 

We shall now, for the learner's practice in reading, give a 
fragment of Don Quixote, and the first chapter of Gil Bias. 
Hitherto an interlineal translation has accompanied the por- 
tions of text introduced into our lessons ; in the present in- 
stance, the Spanish words with their English equivalents will 
be arranged in alphabetical order. With the aid of this 
vocabulary the learner may draw out an interlineal translation 
for himself, as also render the text into good English. 

In order that these portions of text may, at the same time, 
serve to illustrate the construction of the language, we shall 
likewise give the three regular conjugations of the Spanish 
verbs, together with one or two of the irregulars that are most 
frequently met with. In the vocabulary the class to which 
each word belongs — its mood and tense, if a verb, its gender, 
if a noun — will be indicated. By these means the learner 
may subject each sentence to the same sort of analysis that 
has hitherto been pursued, and so strengthen and augment 
his acquaintance with the organization of the language, as 
well as obtain some fresh rules for his guidance in writing 
Spanish. 



k i -s 







o 

13 

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\i) \S vS \<u \D vs 




t 




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3 
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b .- .«- ,jj ,«- .a 






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no 


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CS 




P. 


e- 


fc 


Ph ' 




1 


c- ' 




i 


Ch ' 








fc 1 1 1 1 1 


CO 






























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-4 




























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en 








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g 


M 


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as 






s? 






XI 








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Ch 


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o a 



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« ™ J.Sa 


- '£ « a .3 cs 


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H ' 1 ' ' 1 


H l » 1 1 1 


^ i I I i i 



BS TO 

ii 



<D OJ qj <D OJ <1> 



^ t- Jj ft- U =~ 



CONJUGATION OF THE IRREGULAR YERBS 



HABER, TENER, SER, and ESTAR. 



INFINITIVE.... 


.HABER, 


To have 


TENER, 


To have. 


PBE9.PARTiciPi.E.Habiendo, 


having. 


Teniendo, 


having. 


Past Participle. Habido, 


had. 


Tenido, 


had. 


Pbes. INDICAT 


.He, 
Has, 
Ha, 

Hemos, 
Habeis, 
Han. 


I have. 


Tengo, 

Tienes, 

Tiene, 

Tenemos, 

Teneis, 

Tienen. 


I have. 


Imperfect 


.Habia, 
Habias, 


I had. 


Tenia, 
Teniae, 


I had. 








Habia, 




Tenia, 






Habiamos, 




Teniamos, 






Habiais, 




Teniais, 






Haitian. 




Tenian. 




Past 


..Hube, 
Hubiste, 


I had. 


Tuve, 

Tuviste, 


I had. 








Uubo, 




Tuvo, 






Hubimos, 




Tuvimos, 






HubUteis, 




Tuvisteis, 






Hubieron. 




Tuvieron. 




Future 


..Habre, 
Habras, 
Habia, 
Habrenios, 
Habreis, 
Habran. 


I will have. 


Tendre. 
Tendria, 
Tendra, 

Tendremos, 

Tendreis, 

Tendran. 


I will have. 


CONDITIONAL 


. Habria, 
Habrias, 
Habria, 
Habriamos, 
Habriaia, 
Habrian. 


I should have. 


Tendria, 

Tendrias, 

Tendria, 

Tendriamos, 

Tendriais, 

Tendrian. 


I should have. 


IMPERATIVE.. 


..Not used. 




Ten tu, 
Tenga el, 
Tengamos, 


hate. 








Tened vosotros, 








Tengan ellos 




Pres.SUBJUNC 


..Hay a. 
Hayas, 
Haya, 

Hayamos, 
Hayais, 

Hayan. 


I may have. 


Tenga, 
Tengas, 
Tenga, 
Tengamoa, 

Tengais, 
Tengan. 


I mag have. 



67 



Past Hubiese, 

Hubieses, 

Hubiese, 

Hubiesemos, 

Hubieseis, 

Hubiesen. 



Future Hubiere, 

Hubieres, 

Hubiere, 

Hubieremos, 

Hubiereis, 

Hubieren. 

Conditional Hubiera, 

Hubieras, 

Hubiera, 

Hubi&ramos, 

Hubierais, 

Hubieran. 



/ might have. 



I could have. 



I would have. 



Tuviese, 

Tuvieses, 

Tuviese, 

Tuviesemos, 

Tuviessis, 

Tuviesen. 

Tuviere, 

Tuvieres, 

Tuviere, 

Tuvieremos, 

Tuviereis, 

Tuvieren. 

Tuviera, 

Tuvieras, 

Tuviera, 

Tuvieramos, 

Tuvierais. 

Tuvieran. 



/ might have. 



I could have. 



I would have. 



INFINITIVE SER, 

PBEs.PAKTiciPLE.Siendo, 
Past Participle. Sido, 

Pbes. INDICAT..Soy, 

Eres, 
Es, 



To be. 
being, 
been. 
I am. 



Son. 



Imperfect.... 


Era, 

Eras, 

Era, 

Eramos, 

Erais, 

Eran. 


1 was. 


Estaba, 

Estabas, 

Estaba, 

Estabamos, 

Estabais, 

Estaban. 


I was. 


Past 


Fui, 


I was. 


Estuve, 
Estuviste, 


I was. 




Fuiste, 






Fue, 




Estuvo, 






Fuimos, 




' Estuvimos, 






Fuisteis, 




Estuvisteis, 






Fueron. 




Estuvieron. 




Future 


Sere, 


I will be. 


Estare, 
Estaras, 


I will be. 




Seras, 






Sera, 




Estara, 






Seremos, 




Estaremos, 






Sereis, 




Estareis, 






Seran. 




Estaran. 




CONDITIONAL. Seria, 


I should be. 


Estaria, 


I should be. 




Serias, 




Estarias, 






Seria, 




Estaria, 






Seriamos, 




Estariamos, 






Seriais, 




Estariais, 






Serian. 




Estarian. 





ESTAR, 

Estando, 

Estado, 

Estoy, 
Est as, 
Esta, 
Estamos, 
Estais, 



been. 
I am. 



G8 



IMPERATIVE. 



. Se tii, be. 

Sea el, 
Seamos, 
Sed vosotros, 
Sean ellos. 



Pres. SUBJLTNC.Sea, 



Sea, 
Seamos, 



Past. 



FUTUBE. 



Conditional. 



....Fuese, 
Fueses, 
Fuese, 
Fuesemos, 
Fueseis, 
Fuesen. 

....Fuere, 
Fueres, 
Fuere, 
Fueremos, 
Fuereis, 
Fueren. 

....Fuera. 
Fuera.*, 
Fuera, 
Fueramos, 
Fueraia, 
Faerao. 



/ may be. 



1 might be. 



I could be. 



Esta tii, i 

Este el, 
Estemos, 
Estad vosotros 
Esten ellos. 

Este, 
Estes, 
Este, 



I may be. 



Esten. 

Estuviese, / might be. 

Estuvieses, 

Estuviese, 

Estuviesemos, 

Estuvieseis, 

Estuviesen. 

Estuviere, I could be. 

Estuvieres, 

Estuviere, 

Estuvieremos, 

Estuviereis, 

Estuvieren. 

Estuviera, I would be. 
EstuvieraB, 
Estuviera, 
Estuvieramos, 

K-tuvK-rais, 

EstuTieran. 



It will be observed that there arc two verbs in Spanish correspond- 
ing with the English verb to have. Tlic one (haber) is nscd as an 
auxiliary in constructing the tenses of other verbs, as in the sentence 



Hcmos hallado un tesoro. 



We HAVE FOUND a treasure. 



The other (tener) is employed in oases where to have in English has 
the attributes of an actual verb, as in the sentence 



Tei ui n os un tesoro. 



We have a treasi 



It will likewise be observed that the English verb to be has two 
equivalents in Spanish. The one (scr) is used in constructing the 
passive voice of other verbs, as in the sentence 

Soy tratado con injusticia. I am treated with injustice. 

The other (estar) is the equivalent for to be, when not employed as 
an auxiliary thus — 

Estoy enfermo. I am unwell. 

In order that the learner may know when one form and when an- 
other of a verb is employed in Spanish, the tense of each verb 
occurring in the following text will be stated in the vocabulary. 
Each sentence will thus ser\ e to illustrate the use and application 
of some particular tense of a Spanish verb. 



FRAGMENT FROM DON QUIXOTE. 



Viendo que el prado donde estaban, estaba colmado de verde y 
menuda yerba, dijo Sancho : No es posible, seiior mio, sino que estas 
yerbas dan testirnonio de que por aqui cerca debe de estar alguna 
fuente 6 arroyo que estas yerbas humedece, y asi sera bien que 
vamos un poco mas adelante, que ya toparemos donde podreraos 
mitigar esta terrible sed que nos fatiga, que sin duda causa mayor 
pena que la hambre. 

Pareciole bien el consejo a Don Quijote, y tomando de la rienda 
a Rocinante, y Sancho del cabestro a su asno, despues de haber 
puesto sobre el los relieves que de la cena quedaron, comenzaron a 
caminar por el prado arriba a tiento, porque la oscuridad de la 
noche no les dejaba ver cosa alguna; mas no hubieron andado dos- 
cientos pasos cuando llego a sus oidos un grande ruido de agua, como 
que de algunos grandes y levantados riscos se despeiiaba. Alegroles 
el ruido en gran manera, y parandose a escuchar hacia que parte 
sonaba, oyeron a desbora otro estruendo que les aguo el contento del 
agua, especialmente a Sancho, que naturalmente era medroso y de 
poco animo : digo que oyeron que daban unos golpes a compas, y 
con un cierto crujir de hierros y cadenas, que acompaiiados del fu- 
rioso esti'uendo del agua pusieran pavor a cualquier otro corazon que 
no fuera el de Don Quijote. 

Era la noche, como se ha dicho, oscura, y ellos acertaron a, entrar 
entre unos arboles altos, cuyas hojas movidas del blando viento 
hacian un temeroso y manso ruido ; de manera que la soledad, el 
sitio, la oscuridad, el ruido de la agua con el susurro de las hojas, 
todo causaba horror y espanto, y mas cuando vieron que ni los golpes 
cesaban, ni el viento dormia, ni la maiiana llegaba, anadiendose a todo 
esto el ignorar el lugar donde se hallaban. 

Pero Don Quijote, acompanado de su intrepido corazon, salto sobre 
Rocinante, y embrazando su rodela tercio su lanzon, y dijo : Sancho 
amigo, has de saber que yo naci por querer del cielo en esta nuestra 
edad de hierro para resucitar en ella la de oro, 6 la dorada como suele 
llamarse : yo soy aquel para quien estan guardados los peligros, las 
grandes hazanas, los valerosos hechos. Bien notas, escudero fiel y 
legal, las tinieblas desta noche, su extrano silencio, el sordo y confuso 
estruendo destos arboles, el temeroso ruido de aquella agua, en cuya 



70 

busca venimos, que parece que se despena y derrumba desde los altos 
montes de la luna, y aquel incesable golpear que nos hiere y lastima 
los oidos ; las cuales cosas todas juntas y cada una por si son bastantes 
a infundir miedo, teraor y espanto en el pecho del mismo Marte, 
cuanto mas en aquel que no esta acostumbrado a semej antes acon- 
tecimientos y aventuras : pues todo esto que yo te pinto son incentivos 
y despertadores de mi animo, que ya hace que el corazon me reviente 
en el pecho con el deseo que tiene de acometer esta aventura por mas 
dificultosa que se muestra. Asi que aprieta nn poco la cincha a 
Rocinante, y quedate a Dios, y esperame aqui hasta tres dias no 
mas, en los cuales si no volviere puedes tii volverte a nuestra aldea, 
y desde alii por hacerme merced y bucna obra iras'al Toboso, donde 
diras a la incomparable senora mia Dulcinea, que su cautivo eaballero 
murio por acometer cosas que le hiciesen digno de poder Uamarse 
suyo. 

Cuando Sancho oyo las palabras de su amo, comenzo a llorar con 
la mayor ternura del mundo, y a decide : Senor, yo no se porque 
quiere vuestra merced acometer esta tan temerosa aventura ; ahora 
es de noche, aqui no nos ve nadie, bien podemos torcer el camino y 
desviarnos del peligro, aunquc no bebamos en tres dias ; y pues no 
hay quien nos vea, menos hahra quien nos note de cobardes. Cuanto 
mas que yo he oido muchas veces predicar al cura de nuestro lugar, 
que vuestra merced muy bien conoce, que quien busca el peligro 
pcrece en el : asi que no es bien tentar a Dios acometiendo tan 
desaforado hecho, donde no se puede cscapar sino por milagro ; y 
bastan los que ha hecho el cielo con vuestra merced en lihrarle de 
ser manteado como yo lo fui, y en sacarle vencedor, libre y salvo de 
entre tantos enemigos. Y cuando todo esto no mueva ni ablande 
ese duro corazon, muevale el pensar y creer que apenas so habra 
vuestra morccd apartado de aqui, cuando yo de miedo de mi annua 
a quien quisiere llevarla. Yo sail de mi tierra, y deje hijos y muger 
por vonir ;i scrvir a vuestra merced, oreyeudo valer mas y no menos ; 
pero como la codicia rompe el Baco, a mi me ha raegado mis espe- 
ranzas, pues cuando mas vivas las tenia de alcanzar aquella negra y 
malhadada insula que tantas voces vuestra merced me ha prometido, 
veo que en pago y trueco della me quiere ahora dejar en un lugar 
tan apartado del trato humano. Por un solo Dio<, senor mio, que 
no >c me haga tal desaguisado; y ya que del todo no quiera vuestra 
merced deeistir de aeometer eate hecho. dilatelo ;i lo menos hasta la 
mafiana, que ;i lo que a mi me muestra la ciencia que aprendi cuando 
era pastor, in > debe de haber desde aqui al alba tres lioras, porque la 
booa de la boeina esta enoima de la eabeza, y hace la media noche en 
la linea del brazo izquierdo. 

I Como puedes tu, Sancho, dijo Don Quijote, ver donde hace esa 



71 

linea, ni donde esta esa boca 6 ese colodrillo que dices, si hace la 
noche tan oscura que no parece en todo el cielo estrella alguna? Asi 
es, dijo Sancho; pero tiene el miedo muchos ojos, y ve las cosas de- 
bajo de tierra, cuanto mas encima en el cielo, puesto que por buen 
discurso bien se puede entender que bay poco de aqui al dia. 

Falte lo que faltare, respondio Don Quijote, que no se ba de decir 
por mi ahora ni en ningun tiempo, que lagrimas y ruegos me apar- 
taron de bacer lo que debia a estilo de caballero : y asi te ruego, 
Sancbo, que calles, que Dios que me ha puesto en corazon de aco- 
meter a bora esta tan no vista y tan temerosa aventura, tendra cui- 
dado de mirar por mi salud, y de consolar tu tristeza : lo que bas de 
hacer es apretar bien las cincbas a Rocinante y quedarte aqui, que 
yo dare la vuelta presto 6 vivo 6 muerto. 

Viendo pues Sancho la ultima resolucion de su amo, y cuan 
poco valian con el sus lagrimas, consejos y ruegos, determino de 
aprovecharse de su industria, y bacerle esperar hasta el dia si pudiese ; 
y asi cuando apretaba las cinchas al caballo, bonitamente y sin ser 
sentido, ato con el cabestro de su asno ambos pies a Rocinante ; de 
manera que cuando Don Quijote se quiso partir, no pudo, porque el 
caballo no se podia mover sino a saltos. 

Viendo Sancbo Panza el buen suceso de su embuste dijo : Ea, 
seiior, que el cielo conmovido de mis lagrimas y plegarias ba ordenado 
que no se pueda mover Rocinante ; y si vos quereis porfiar y espo- 
lear, sera enojar a la fortuna, y dar coces, como dicen, contra el 
aguijon. 

Desesperabase con esto Don Quijote, y por mas que ponia las 
piernas al caballo, menos le podia mover, y sin caer en la cuenta de 
la ligadura, tuvo por bien de sosegarse y esperar 6 a que amaneciese, 
6 a que Rocinante se menease, creyendo sin duda que aquello venia 
de otra parte que de la industria de Sancbo, y asi le dijo : Pues asi 
es, Sancho, que Rocinante no puede moverse, yo soy contento de 
esperar a que ria el alba, aunque yo Uore lo que ella tardare en venir. 
No hay que llorar, respondio Sancho, que yo entretendre a vuestra 
merced contando cuentos desde aqui al dia, si ya no es que se quiere 
apear, y echarse a dormir un poco sobre la verde yerba a uso de ca- 
balleros andantes, para hallarse mas descansado cuando llegue el dia 
y punto de acometer esta tan desemejable aventura que le espera. 

l A que llamas apear, 6 a que dormir? dijo Don Quijote : i soy 
yo por ventura de aquellos caballeros que toman reposo en los peli- 
gros ? Duerme tu que naciste para dormir, 6 haz lo que quisieres, 
que yo hare lo que viere que mas viene con mi pretension. 

No se enoje vuestra merced, sefior mio, respondio Sancho, que no 
lo dije por tanto ; y llegandose a el, puso la una mano en el arzon 
delantero, y la otra en el otra, de modo que quedo abrazado con el 



72 

muslo izquierdo de su amo sin osarse apartar del un dedo : tal era el 
miedo que tenia a los golpes que todavia alternativamente sonaban. 

Dijole Don Quijote que contase algun cuento para entretenerle, 
como se lo habia prometido : a lo que Sancho dijo que si hiciera si 
le dejara el teraor de lo que oia ; pero con todo eso yo me esforzare a 
decir una historia, que si la acierto a contar y no me van a la mano, 
es la mejor de las historias, y esteme vuestra merced atento que ya 
comienzo. Erase que se era, el bien que viniere para todos sea, y el 
mal para quien lo fuere a buscar ; y advierta vuestra merced, seiior 
mio, que el principio que los antiguos dieron a sus consejas no fue asi 
como quiera, que fue una sentencia de Caton Zonzorino romano, que 
dice : Y el mal par a quien L: fuere d buscar, que viene aqui como 
anillo al dedo, para que vuestra merced se este quedo, y no vaya a 
buscar el mal a ninguna parte, sino que nos volvamos por otro ca- 
mino, pues nadie nos fuerza a que sigamos este donde tantos miedos 
nos sobresaltan. 

Sigue tu cuento, Sancho, dijo Don Quijote, y del caniino que 
hemos 'le seguir dejame ;i mi el cuidado. 

Digo pues, prosiguio Sancho, que en un lugar de Estremadura 
habia un pastor cabrerizo, quiero decir, que guardaba cabras, el cual 
pastor 6 cabrerizo, como digo de mi cuento, se llamaba Lope Ruiz, y 
este Lope Ruiz andaba enamorado de una pastora que se llamaba 
Torralva, la coal pastora llamada Torralva era hija de un ganadero 
rico, y este ganadero rico... 

si desa manera cuentastu cuento, Sancho, dijo Don Quijote, repi- 
tiendo dos voces lo que vas diciendo, no acabaras en dos dias: dilo 
aeguidamente, y euentaio como hombre de entendimiento j y si no, 
no digas nada. 

De la misma manera que yolo cuento, respondio Sancho, se cuen- 
ran en mi tierra todas las consejas, y yo no se contarlo de otra,ni es 
bien que vuestra merced me pida que haga usos nuevos. 

J)i como qnisieres, respondio Don Quijote, que pues la suerte 
quiere que no pucda dejar de eseucharte, prosigue. 

-\>i que, sefior mio de mi anima, prosigui6 Sancho, que como ya 
tengo dicho, este pastor andaba enamorado de Torralva la pastora, 
que era una mora rolliza, zaharefia, y tiraba algo a liombruna, porque 
tenia unos pocos bigotes, <jue parece que ahora la veo. 

; Luego conocistela tu \ diL'o Don Quijote. 

No la eonoei yo, respondio Sancho, pero quien me conto este 
cuento me dijo (pie era tan cierto v v< rdadero, que podia bien cuando 
lo contase a otro, afirmar y jurar que lo habia visto todo : asi que 
yendo dias y viniendo dias, el diablo que no duei-me, y que todo lo 
■Saaca, hizo de manera, que el amor que el pastor tenia a la pastora 
Be volvie-e en hoinerill,, y mala voluiitad, y la causa foe segutl mains 



73 

lenguas una cierta cantidad de zelillos que olla le dio, tales que 
pasaban de la raya y llegaban a lo vedado ; y fue tanto lo que el 
pastor la aborrecio de alii adelante, que por no verla se quiso ausen- 
tar de aquella tierra, y irse donde sus ojos no la viesen jamas : la 
Torralva que se vio desdefiada del Lope, luego le quiso bien mas que 
nunca le habia querido. 

Esa es natural condicion de mugeres, dijo Don Quijote, desdenar 
a quien las quiere,y amar a quien las aborrece: pasa adelante, Sancbo. 

Sucedio, dijo Sancho, que el pastor puso por obra su determinacion, 
y antecogiendo sus cabras se encamino por los campos de Estrema- 
dura para pasarse a los reinos de Portugal : la Torralva que lo supo, 
se fue tras el, y seguiale a pie y descalza desde lejos con un bordon 
en la mano y con unas alforjas al cuello, donde llevaba, segun es 
fama, un pedazo de espejo y otro de un peine, y no se que botecillo 
de mudas para la cara ; mas llevase lo que llevase, que yo no me 
quiero meter abora en averiguallo, solo dire, que dicen que el pastor 
llego con su ganado a pasar el rio Guadiana, y en aquella sazon iba 
crecido y casi fuera de madre, y por la parte que llego no habia barca 
ni barco, ni quien le pasase a el ni a su ganado de la otra parte, de 
lo que se congojo mucho, porque veia que la Torralva venia ya muy 
cerca, y le habia de dar mucha pesadumbre con sus ruegos y lagri- 
mas ; mas tanto anduvo mirando, que vio un pescador que tenia 
junto a si un barco tan pequeno, que solamente podian caber en el 
una persona y una cabra, y con todo esto le hablo y concerto con el, 
que le pasase a el y a trescientas cabras que llevaba. Entro el pes- 
cador en el barco y paso una cabra, volvio y paso otra, torno a volver 
y torno a pasar otra : tenga vuestra merced cuenta con las cabras que, 
el pescador va pasando, porque si se pierde una de la memoria, se 
acabara el cuento, y no sera posible contar mas palabras del. Sigo 
pues y digo, que el desembarcadero de la otra parte estaba lleno de 
cieno y resbaloso, y tardaba el pescador mucho tiempo en ir y volver : 
con todo esto volvio por otra cabra, y otra y otra. 

Haz cuenta que las paso todas, dijo Don Quijote, no andes yendo 
y viniendo desa manera, que no acabaras de pasarlas en un ano. 

I Cuantas han pasado hasta ahora ? dijo Sancho. 

Yo que diablos se? respondio Don Quijote. 

He ahi lo que yo dije, que tuviese buena cuenta : pues por Dios 
que se ha acabado el cuento, que no hay pasar adelante. 

^Como puede ser eso? respondio Don Quijote; £tan de esencia 
de la historia es saber las cabras que han pasado por extenso, que si 
se yerra una del numero, no puedes seguir adelante con la historia ? 

No, seiior, en ninguna manera, respondio Sancho, porque asi como 
yo pregunte a vuestra merced que me dijese cuantas cabras habian 
pasado, y me respondio que no sabia, en aquel mismo iustante se me 



74 

rue a mi de la memoria cuante me quedaba por decir, y a fe que era 
de mucha virtud y contento. 

I De modo, dijo Don Quijote, que ya la historia es acabada ? 

Tan acabada es como mi madre, dijo Sancho. 

Digote de verdad, respondio Don Quijote, que tu has contado una 
de las mas nuevas consejas, cuento 6 historia que nadie pudo pensar 
en el mundo, y que tal modo de contarla ni dejarla jamas se podra 
ver ni habra visto en toda la yida, aunque no esperaba yo otra cosa 
de tu buen discurso ; mas no me maravillo, pues quiza estos golpes 
que no cesan te deben de tener turbado el entendimiento. 

Todo puede ser, respondio Sancho; mas yo se que en lo de mi 
cuento no hay mas que decir, que alii se acaba do comienza el ycrro 
de la cuenta del pasage de las cabras. 



FIRST CHAPTER OF GIL BLAS. 



\A< IM1ENTO DE GIL BLAS, Y SIT EDUCACIOX. 

Bias de Santillana, mi padre, despues de haber servido muchos 
alios en loa ejercitos de la monarquia espanola, se retiiu al lugar 
donde lial>ia nacido. Casose con una aldeana, y yo naci al mundo 
diez mesefl despuee que se habian casado. Paearonse a vivir a 
Oviedo, donde mi madre se acomodo por ama de gobierno, y mi pa- 
dre por escudcro. Como no tenian mas bicnes que su salario, corria 
gran peligro mi edueacioo de no haber Bido la mejor, si Dios ao me 
hubiera deparado un ti<», que era can6nigo de aquella iglesia. Llama- 
il Pen/ : era hennano mayor de mi madre, y habia sido mi 
padrino. Figurate alia en tu imaginacion, lector mio, un hombre 
peqaeno, de tree \>\vs j medio <le estatura, extraordinariamente gordo, 
con la cabeza zabnllida entre los hombros, y he aqui la vera effigies 
dc mi tio. Por lo demas era un cclesiastico que solo pcnsaba en 
darsc buena vida, qniero decir en comer y en tratarse bicn, para lo 
eual le suministraba suficicntemcnte la renta de su prcbenda. 

Llcvunu' a su caea cuando yo era nifio, y se encargo de mi educa- 
cion. Parecile desde luego tan despejado, que reeolvi6 cultivar mi 
talento. Compr6me una cartilla, y quieo c'l miemo ser mi maestro 
de Leer. Tambien bubiera querido eneefiarme por si miemo lalcngua 
1 itina, porque esc dinero ahorraria ; pero el pobrc CJil Perei 



15 

precisado a ponerme bajo la ferula de un preceptor, y me envio al 
doctor Godinez, que pasaba por el mas habil pedantc que habia en 
Oviedo. Aproveche tanto en esta escuela, que al cabo de cinco 6 
seis anos entendia un poco los autores griegos, y suficientemente los 
poetas latinos. Apliqueme despues a la logica, que me enseiio a dis- 
currir y argumentar sin termino. Gustabanme mucho las disputas, 
y detenia a los que encontraba, conocidos 6 no conocidos, para pro- 
ponerles cuestiones y argumentos. Topabame a veces con algunos 
manteistas, que no apetecian otra cosa ; y entonces era el oirnos dis- 
putar. j Que voces ! j Que patadas ! \ Que gestos ! j Que con- 
torsiones ! j Que espumarajos en las bocas ! Mas pareciamos 
energumenos que filosofos. 

De esta manera logre gran fama de sabio en toda la ciudad. A mi 
tio se le caia la baba, y se lisonjeaba infinito con la esperanza de que 
en virtud de mi reputacion presto dejaria de tenerme sobre sus cos- 
tillas. Dijome un dia : Ola, Gil Bias, ya no eres nino ; tienes diez 
y siete afios, y Dios te ha dado habilidad. Hemos menester pensar 
en ayudarte. Estoy resuelto a enviarte a la universidad de Sala- 
manca, donde con tu ingenio y con tu talento no dejaras de colocarte 
en algun buen puesto. Para tu viage te dare algun dinero y la 
mula, que vale de diez a doce doblones, la que podras vender en 
Salamanca, y mantenerte despues con el dinero, hasta que logres 
algun empleo que te de de comer honradamente. 

No podia mi tio proponerme cosa mas de mi gusto, porque reven- 
taba por ver mundo : sin embargo supe vencerme, y disimular mi 
alegria. Cuando llego la hora de marchar, solo me mostre afligido 
del sentimiento de separarme de un tio a, quien debia tantas obliga- 
ciones : enterneciose el buen sefior, de manera que me dio mas dinero 
del que me daria si hubiera leido 6 penetrado lo que pasaba en lo intimo 
de mi corazon. Antes de montar quise ir a dar un abrazo a mi padre 
y a mi madre, los cuales no anduvieron escasos en materia de conse- 
jos. Exhortaronme a que todos los dias encomendase a Dios a mi 
tio, a vivir cristianamente, a no mezclarme nunca en negocios peli- 
grosos, y sobre todo a no desear, y mucho menos a tomar lo ageno 
contra la voluntad de su duefio. Despues de haberme arengado lar- 
gamente, me regalaron con su bendicion, la unica cosa que podia 
esperar de ellos. Inmediatamente monte en mi mula, y sail de la 
ciudad. 



VOCABULARY 



tf THE WOflDS CONTAINED IN THE 



FRAGMENT FROM DON QUIXOTE, 

ANU THE 

FIRST CHAPTER OF GIL BLAS. 



A, prep. To, at, with, by. 

Ablandar, v. To soften. 

Ablande, May soften, 3d pers. pre9. 

subj. of Ablandar. 
Aborrece, He abhores, 3d pers. prcs. j 

ind. of the verb Aborrecer. 
Aborrecer, v. To nbhore, to hate 
Aborreciu, Abhorred, hated, 3d pers. I 

past ind. of the v. Aborrecer. 
Abrazado, Embraced, pxst part, of 

Abruzur. 
Abraxar, v. To embrace. 
Abrazo, s. m. Embrace. 
Acaba, Finishes, ends, 3d pers. pres. 

ind. of the v. Aeabar. 
Acabado, Finished, delivered, past part. 

of the v. . tcabar. 
Aeabar, v. To finish, to conclude. 
Aoabard, Will terminate, 3d pers. fut. 

ind. of Aeabar. 
Acabarat, Thou wilt conclude, 2d pers. 

fut. ind. of Aeabar. 
Ac, iiur, v. to attain, to succeed. 
Acert&ron, Succeeded, 3d pers. past ind. 

of Acertar, 
Acierto, I succeed, 1st pers. pres. ind. 

of Acertar. 
Acomcter, v. To undertake. 
Acometitndo, By undertaking, pres. 

part, of Acometer. 
Aiomodar, v. To accommodate. 
Aeomodo, Became, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Acomndnr. 
Aeompanado, Accompanied, past part. 

of A&mpamar. 
Acompaiiar, v. To accompany. 
Acontecimicnto, s. m. Event. 
Acottvmbrado, Accustomed, past part. 

Of Acustuinbrar. 
Aeowtumbrar, v. To accompany. 
Adelante, adv. Forward, further. 
Adoierta, Observe, 3d pers. sing. imp. 

of . /</(•< rtir. 
Advertir, v. To take notice, to advert. 
AArtnar, v. Affirm. 
AfHgido, adj. m. AfHicted. 
. i,/i mi, adj. m. Others, the goods of 

others. 
. tgua, "Water. 



AND 

Aguar, v. To damp, to throw cold wa- 
ter on. 

Aguo, Damped, 3d pers. past ind. of 
Aguar. 

Agi'ijon, s. m. Prick, spur. 

Alii, adv. There — Be ahi, what! 

Ahora, adv. Now. 

Ahorrar, v. To save, to spare. 

Akorraria, Would have saved, 3d pers. 
cond. of Ahorrar. 

Alt comp. art. for a el, To the. 

Alba, s. f. Daybreak, dawn. 

Alcanzar, v. To obtain, to catch. 

Aldea, s. f. Village. 

Aldeana, s. f. Village girl. 

Alegrar, v. To rejoice. 

Alegria, s. f. Joy. 

Ali'ijrii. lie rejoiced. 3d pers. past ind. 

Aliyrolcs, It rejoiced them. They were 
clad. 

Alforja, s. f. Wallet, provision, scrip. 

Alijn, adv. Somewhat. 

Aiijun, adv. Some. 

Alguna, adj. Some, any. 

Algunos, adj. m. plur. Some, any. 

.//A/, adv. There. 

AM, adv. There— Desde alii. From 
thence — De alii adelante, Hencefor- 
ward, ever after. 

Alternatiiamente, adv. At intervals. 

Alto, adj. llich. 

Ama, s. f. Mistress, Ama de gobierno, 
Duenna, guardian. 

Amuncctr, v. imp. To dawn. 

Allium cirse, Day might break, 3d pers. 
paat subj. of Amanecer. 

Amur, v. To love. 

A mhos, adj. Both. 

Amigo, a. m. Friend. 

Amo, s. m. Master. 

Amur, 9. m. Love. 

Aiiadiendo, Adding, pres. part, of Aha- 
dir. 

Anadir, v. To add. 

.Ihadicntliisc, Adding itself 

Aha$ca, Tempts, inspires, 3d pers. pres. 
ind. of Aiiascar. 

Anasoar, To mix UP with. 

Amliiba, lie fell, he became, 3d pers. 
imp. ind. of Andur. 

Andado, Gone, past part, of Andur. 



AUS 



Andante, "Wandering, locomotive. 

Andar, v. To go. 

Andes, Goest, keep, 2d pers. pres. ind. 

of Andar. 
Anduvo, He went, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Andar. 
Anduvieron, Were, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Andar. 
Anillo, s. m. Ring. 
Anima, s. f. Soul. 
Animo, s. f. Courage. 
Ano, s. m. Year. 
Antecoger, v. To send on before. 
Antecogiendo, Sending on before, pres. 

part, of Antecoger. 
Antes, prep. Before. 
Antiguos, s. m. Ancients. 
Apartado, Gone away, past part, of 

Apartar. 
Apartar, v. To go away, to leave, to 

separate. 
Apartdron, Deterred, 3d pers. past ind. 

of Apartar. 
Apear, v. To alight. 
Apenas, adv. Scarcely. 
Apetecer, v. To desire. 
Apetecian, Desired, 3d pers. imp. ind. 

of Apetecer. 
Aplicar, v. To apply. 
Aplique, I applied, 1st pers. past ind. of 

Aplicar. 
Apliqueme, I applied myself. 
Aprcnder, v. To learn. 
Aprendi, I learned, 1st pers. past ind. of 

Aprender, 
Apretaba, He tightened, 3d pers. imper- 
fect of Apretar. 
Apretar, v. To tighten, to make firm. 
Aprieta, Tighten, 2d pers. sing, impera- 
tive of Apretar. 
Aprovechar, v. To make progress, to 

get on. 
Aprovecharse, v. To profit, to avail him- 
self. 
AprovecM, I advanced, 1st pers. past 

ind. of Aprovechar. 
Aquel, pron. adj. He, that. 
Aquella, pron. adj. That. 
Aquello, pron. adj. This, that. 
Aqui, adv. Here — Des aqui, From 

hence — He aqui. There you have. 
Arbol, s. m. Tree. 
Arengado, Harangued, past part, of 

Arengar. 
Arengar, v. To harangue. 
Argumentar, v. To argue. 
Argumento, s. m. Argument. 
Arriba, adv. Upwards. 
Arroyo, s. m. Brook, rivulet. 
Arzon, s. m. Saddle bow. 
Asi, adv. So — Asi como, As when. 
Asno, s. m. Ass. 
Atar, v. To attach, to tie. 
Atento, adj. Attentive. 
Ato, He tied, 3d pers. past ind. of Atar 
Aunque, conj. Though. 
Ausentarse, v. To absent himself, to de- 
part. 



CAS 

Autor, s. m. Author. 
Aventura, s. f. Adventure. 
Averiguallo, s. m. Examination. 
Ayudar, v. To aid. 
Ayudarte, Aiding you. 

B 

Baba, s. m. Saliva. 

Bajo, prep. Under. 

Barca, s. f. Raft. 

Barco, s. m. Boat. 

Bastan, Suffice, 3d pers. pres. ind. of 
Bastar. 

Bastante, adj. Sufficient. 

Bastar, v. To suffice. 

Bebamos, We may drink, 1st pers. pres. 
ind. of Beber. 

Beber, v. To drink. 

Bendicion, s. f. Benediction. 

Bien, adv. Well, good, much, easily. 

Bienes, s. plur. Wealth, goods, posses- 
sions. 

Bigote, s. m. Moustache, whiskers. 

Blando, adj. Soft. 

Boca, s. f. Mouth. 

Bocina, s. f. Little bear, (constellation). 

Bonitamente, adv. Adroitly, gently. 

Bordon, s. m. Staff. 

Botecillo, s. m. Little pot. 

Brazo, s. m. Arm, 

Buen, adj. Good. 

Buena, adj. f. Good. 

Busca, s. f. Search. 

Busca, Seeks, 3d pers. pres. ind. of 
Buscar. 

Buscar, v. To seek. 



Caballero, s. m. Knight, gentleman. 

Caballo, s. m. Horse. 

Caber, v. Contain. 

Cabestro, s. m. Halter. 

Cabeza, s. f. Head. 

Cabo, s. m. End. 

Cabra, s. f. Goat. 

Cabrerizo, s. m. Kid, goatherd. 

Cada, adj. Each. 

Cadena, s. f. Chain. 

Caer, v. To fall. — Caer en la cuenta, 

Discovering the deception. 
Caia, Fell, 3d. pers. imperfect ind. of 

Caer.— A mi tio se le caia la baba, 

My uncle's mouth watered. 
Collar, v. To be silent. 
Calles, Thou mayest be silent, 2d. pers. 

pres. ind. of Collar. 
Caminar, To go on, to travel. 
Camino, s. m. Road. 
Campo, s. m. Field, country. 
Canonigo, s. m. Canon, priest. 
Cantidad, s. f. Quantity. 
Car a, s. f. Face. 
Cartilla, s. f. Alphabet. 
Casa, s. f. House. 

Casado, Married, past part, of Casar. 
Casar, v. To marry. 



CON 



78 



DAR 



Casi, adv. Almost. 

Caso, He married, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Casar. 
Casose, He married. 
Caton, prop, name, Cato. 
Causa, s. f. Cause. 
Causa, Causes, 3d pers. pres. ind. of 

Causar. 
Causaba, Caused, 3d per. imp. ind. of 

Causar. 
Causar, v. To cause, to produce. 
Cautivo, s. m. Captive. 
Cena, s. f. Supper. 
Cerca, adv. About, near. 
Cesaban, Ceased, 3d pers. imperf. ind. 

of Cesar. 
Cesan, Cease, 3d per. pres. ind. of Cesar. 
Cesar, v. To cease. 
Cielo, 8. m. Heaven. 
Ciencia, s. f. Science. 
Cienno, s. f. Mud. 
Cierta, adj. Certain. 
Cincha, s. f. Girth. 
Cinco, adj. Five. 
Ciudad, s. f. Town. 
Cobarde, adj. Coward. 
Coces, Kicks, plur. of Coz. 
Codicia, s. f. Avarice. 
Colmado, Tufted, matted, past part, of 

Colmar. 
Colmar, v. To strew, to cover. 
Colocar, v. To place. 
Colocarte, To place thyself. 
ColodriUo, s. m. Conjunction. 
Comenzar, v. To commence. 
Comenzi'iron, They began, 3d pers. past 

ind. of Comenzar. 
ComenzS, He began, 3d pers. past ind. 

of Comenzar. 
Comer, v. To eat. 
Comienzo, I begin, 1st pers. pres. ind. 

of Comenzar. 
Comienza, Begins, 3d pers. pres. ind. of 

Comenzar. 
Como, conj. As, like — adv. How. 
Compos, s. m. Order, measure — A com- 
pos, Measured. 
Comprar, v. To buy. 
Compru, He bought, 3d pers. past ind. 

of Comprar. 
Comprome, He bought me. 
Con, prep. With. 

Concertar, v. To concert, to arrange. 
Concerto, Arranged, 3d pers. past ind. 

of Concertar. 
( 'ondicion, s. f. Condition. 
Confuso, adj. Confused. 
Congnjar, v. To annoy, to afflict. 
( 'ongqjS, Annoyed, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Congojar. 
Conmover, To move, to soften. 
Conmovido, Moved, past part, of Con- 
mover. 
Conoce, Knows, 3d pers. pres. ind. of 

Conocer. 
Conocer, v. To know. 
Conoci, Knew, 1st pers. past ind. of 

Conocer. 



Conociste, Knewest, 2d pers. past ind. 
of Conocer. 

Conocido, Known, past part, of Conocer. 

Conseja, s. f. Fable, story, tale. 

Consejo, s. m. Advice, counsel. 

Consolar, v. To console. 

Contado, Related, past part, of Contar. 

Contando, Relating, pres. part, of Con- 
tar. 

Contar, v. To relate. 

Contase, I might relate, he might relate, 
1st and 3d pers. past subj. of Contar. 

Contento, s. m. Contentment. 

Contento, adj. Content. 

Conto, Related, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Contar. 
Contorsion, s. f. Contortion. 
Contra, prep. Against. 
Corazon, s. m. Heart. 
Correr, v. To run. 
Corria, I ran, 3d pers. imperf. ind. of 

Correr. 
Cosa, s. f. Thing, anything. 
Costilla, s. f. Rib. — Sobre sus costillas, 

Upon his shoulders. 
Coz, s. m. Kick. 
Crecer, v. To grow, to swell. 
Crecido, Swollen, past part, of Crecer. 
Creer, v. To believe, — subs. Belief. 
Creyendo, Believing, pres. part. of Creer. 
Cristlanamente, adv. Like a Christian. 
Crujir, v. To crack — subs. Cracking. 
Cual, adj. pro. Which. 
Cuales, adj. pron. Which. — Los cuales, 

Who. 
Cua/auicr, pron. Whatever. 
Cuan, adv. How. 
Cuando, adv. When. 
Cuante, pron. Whatever. 
Cuanto, s. m. How much. — Cuanto mas, 
How much the more, so much the moi e. 
Cuantas, adj. f. plur. How many. 
Cuello, s. m. Neck. 
Cuenta, s. f. Count, reckoning. 
('inn la, Relate, 2d person, sing, impera- 
tive of Contar, 
Cuentalo, Relate it. 
( 'uentan, They relate, 3d per. pres. ind. 

of Contar. 
Cuentas, Thou relatest, 2d pers. pres. 

ind. of Contar. 
Cuento, Relate, 1st pers. pres. ind. of 

Contar. 
Cuento, s. m. Story, talc. 
( 'mstion, s. f. Question. 
Cuidado, s. m. Care. 
Cultivar, v. To cultivate. 
Cura, s. m. Curate. 
Cut/a, pron. Which, whose. 
Cut/as, pron. plur. Whose. 



Duhan, They gave, 3d pers. imperf. ind. 

Of Bar. 
Dado, Given, past part, of Dar. 
Dan, Give, 3d pers. pres. ind. of Dar. 
Dar. v. To give. 



DES 



79 



DOR 



Dare, I will give, 1st pers. ind. of Dar. 
Daria, He would have given, 3d pers. 

sing. cond. of Dar. 
De, prep. Of, from, with, by, for, in. 
De, May give, 3d pers. pres. sub. of Dar. 
Debajo, adv. Under. 
Debe, There ought, 3d pers. pres. ind. 

of Deber. 
Deben, Must, 3d per. pres. ind. of Deber. 
Deber, v. To owe, ought, should, could, 

would, might. 
Debia, I ought, lowed, 1st and 3d pers. 

imperf. ind. of Deber. 
Decir. v. To say, to tell. 
Decirle, To say to him. 
Dedo, s. m. Finger. 
Dejaba, Permitted, 1st and 3d pers. 

imperf. ind. of Dejar. 
Deja, Allow, let, 2d pers. sing, impera- 
tive of Dejar. 
Dejame, Leave. 

Dejar, v. To leave, to forsake, to avoid. 
Dejara, Would leave, 3d pers. fut. subj. 

of Dejar. 
Dejaras, Thou wilt fail, 2d pers. fut. of 

ind. of Dejar. 
Dejaria, Should cease, 1st and 3d pers. 

cond. of Dejar. 
Deje, Gave up, left, forsook, 1st pers. 

past ind. of Dejar. 
Del, comb, article for de el, Of the, from 

the, in the, by the. — Del que, than. 
Del, comb. pron. for de el, From him or 

it, of him or it. 
Delia, comb. pron. for de ella, Of her 

or it, for her or it. 
Delantero, adj. Fore. 
Demas, adv. Otherwise Por lo demas, 

In other respects. 
Deparado, Provided, past part, of De- 



Deparar, v. To send, to give. 
Derrumba, Precipitates, 3d pers. pres. 

ind. of Derrumbar. 
Derrumbar, v. To precipitate. 
Desaguisado, s. m. Evil, injury. 
Desa, comb. pron. for de esa, Of this, 

in this. 
Desaforado, adj. Rash. 
Descalza, adj. Unshod, barefoot. 
Descansado, adj. Disposed, prepared. 
Desde, prep. From, from thence. 
Desde luego, Then, at that time. 
Desdenar, v. To scorn, to detest. 
Desdenada, adj. Scorned. 
Desear, v. To covet. 
Desembarcadero, s. m. Landing place. 
Desemejable, adj. Singular. 
Deseo, s. m. Desire. 
Desesperabase, Exasperated, 3d pers. 

imperf. ind. of Desesperarse. 
Desesperarse, v. ref. To despair. 
Deshora, s. f. Present hour. — A desliora, 

Suddenly. 
Desistir, v. To desist. 
Despejado, adj. Clever, smart. 
Despena, Descends, 3d pers. pres. ind. 

of Despenar. 



Despenaba, Descended, precipitated, 3d 
pers. imperf. ind. of Despenar. 

Despenar, v. To precipitate, to fall 
downwards. 

Despertador, s. m. He who awakens. 

Despues, prep. After, afterwards. 

Desta, comp. pron. for de esta, Of this. 

Destos, comp. pron. plur. for de estos, 

Desviar, v. To deviate. 
Desviarnos, Turn ourselves away. 
Detener, v. To arrest, to stop. 
Detenia, Stopped, arrested, 1st and 3d 

pers. imperf. ind. of Detener. 
Determinacion, s. f. Determination. 
Determinar, v. To determine. 
Determino, He determined, 3d per. past 

ind. of Determinar. 
Di, Tell, say, 2d per. imper. of Decir. 
Dia, s. m. Day. 
Diabolo, s. m. Devil. 
Dice, Says, 3d per. pres. ind. of Decir. 
Dicen, They say, 3d per. pres. ind. of 

Decir. 
Dices, Thou sayest, 2d pers. pres. ind. 

of Decir. 
Dicho, Said, past of Decir. 
Diciendo, Saying, pres. part, of Decir. 
Dieron, Gave, 3d pers. past ind. of Dar. 
Diez, adj. Ten. 
Dificultoso, adj., Difficult. 
Digas, Thou mayest tell, 2d pers. pres. 

subj. of Decir. 
Digno, adj., Worthy. 
Digo, I say, 1st per. pres. ind. of Decir. 
Digote, I say unto thee. 
Dije, I said, 1st pers. past ind. of 

Decir. 
Dijese, Might tell, 1st and 3d pers. past 

subj. of Decir. 
Dijo, Said, 3d pers. past ind. of Decir. 
Dijome, He said to me. 
Dijole, Said to him. 
Dilatar, v. To defer, to delay. 
Dilate, Delay, 3d pers. sing, imper. of 

Dilatar. 
Dildtelo, Delay it, put it off. 
Dilo, Tell it. 
Dinero, s. m. Money. 
Dio, Gave, he gave, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Dar. 
Dios, s. m. God. 
Diras, Thou shalt say, 2d. pers. fut. ind. 

of Decir. 
Dire, I will say, 1st pers. fut. ind. of 

Decir. 
Discurrir, v. To dispute. 
Discurso, s. m. Discourse, reasoning. 
Disimular, v. To dissimulate. 
Disputa, s. f. Dispute. 
Disputar, v. To dispute. 
Do, adv. Where. 
Doblon, s. m. Doublon, Spanish gold 

coin, value about 34s. 
Doce, adj. Twelve. 
Doctor, s. m. Doctor. 
Donde, adj. Where. 
Dorada, adj. Golden. 



ENT 



80 



EXT 



Dormia, Slept, 2d pers. imperf. ind. of 

Dormir. 
Dormir, v. To sleep. 
Dos, adj. Two. 

Doscienios, adj. Two hundred. 
JDuda, s. f. Doubt. 
Dueho, Master, guardian. 
Duerme, Sleeps, 3d pers. pres. ind. and 

Sleep, 2d per. sing, imper. of Dormir. 
Duro, adj. Hard. 

E 

Ea, interj. Ha. 

Echarse, v. To throw one's self, throw 

yourself. 
Eclesiastico, s. m. Ecclesiastic. 
Edad, s. f. Age. 
Education, s. f. Education. 
Effigies, s. lat. Image. 
Eiercito, s. m. Army. 
El, art. m. sing. The. 
El, pron. It, him, that. 
Ella, pron. She, it. 
Ellos, pron. They, them. 
Embargo, s. m. Interdict. — Sin embargo, 

Nevertheless. 
Embrazando, Bracing, pres. part, of 

Embrazar. 
Embraxar, r. To brace. 
Embuste, s. m. Artifice, ruse, stratagem. 
Emplco, s. m. Employ. 
En, prep. In. 

Enamorado, adj. Enamoured. 
Encaminar, v. To travel. 
BneaminS, Went onwards, 3d pers. past 

ind. of Enraminar. 
Enrnrgar, v. To charge. 
Encar'gu, Charged, 3d pers. past ind. of 

i'.nr, injur. 
Encima, adv. Over, in conjunction. 
Encoincndnr, v. To recommend. 
EncomeniLtse, I should commend, 1st 

pers. past subj. of Eneomsndar, 
Enron! mini. Met, 1st and 3d. pers. im- 
perf. ind. of Encontrar. 
Encontrar, v. To meet. 
Enemigo, s. m. Enemy. 
Energunteno, s. m. Lunatic. 
Enojar, v. To annoy, to irritate. 

Vex, 3d pers. sing, imper. of 

Ettgjar. 
Ensehar, v. To teach. 
Enteharnte, To teach me. 
Enseni, Taught, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Enscnar. 
E Mender, v. To understand, to show, 

to determine. 
Entendia, I understood, 1st and 3d pers. 

imperf. ind. of Entendcr. 
Enlcnilimicnto, s m. Understanding. 
Enternecer, v. To soften. 
Enterneci", I softened, 3d pers. past. 

ind. of Enternecer. 
Entcrneciosc , I softened down. 
EntSnces, adv. There. 
Entre, prep. Amongst, between. 
Entretendre, I shall entertain, 1st pers. 

fut. ind. of i'.ntrrtcnrr. 



Entretener, To entertain, to amuse. 
Entrar, v. To enter. 

Entro, Entered, 3d pers. past ind. of 
Entrar. 

Enviar, v. To send. 

Enviarte, To send thee. 

Envio, Sent, 3d pers. past ind. of Enviar. 

Era, Was, I was, 1st and 3d pers. im- 
perf. ind. of Ser. Erase que se era, 
"What was, has been. 

Eres, Thou art, 2d pers. pres. ind. of Ser. 

Errar, v. To err. 

Es, It is, 3d pers. pres. ind. of Ser. 

Esa, adj. This, that. 

Escapar, v. To escape. 

Escaso, adj. Miserly. 

Escuchar, v. To listen. 

Escudero, s. m. Squire, groom. 

Escuela, s. f. School. 

Eseura, adj. Obscure, dark. 

Escuridad, s. f. Obscurity, darkness. 

Ese, adj. That. 

Esencia, s. f. Essence. 

Esforzarc, "Will endeavour, 1st pers. fuf . 
ind. of Esforzar. 

Esforzarse, To force one's self, to en- 
deavour. 

Eso, pron. That. 

Espanol, adj. m. Spanish. 

Espanola, adj. f. Spanish. 

Espanto, s. m. Fright. 

Especialmente, adv. Especially. 

Eapejo, s. m. Mirror, glass. 

Etpero, Waitest, 2d pers. pres. ind. and 
waits, 3d pers. pres. ind. of Esperar. 

Esperaba, I expected, 1st pers. imperf. 
ind. of Esperar. 

Etperame, Wait for mo. 

Esperanto, s. f. Hope. 

Esperar, v. To wait, to expect, to 
hope. 

Espolear, v. To spur. 

Espumarqjo, s. m. Foam. 

Esta, adj. This. 

Esta, Is, 3d pers. pres. ind. of Estar. 

Estaba, Was, 3d pers. imperf. ind. of 
Estar, 

Estaban, They were, 3d pers. imperf. 
ind. of Estar. 

Estan, Are, 3d pers. pres. ind. of Estar. 

Estar, v. To be. 

Estas, adj. There. 

Estatura, s. f. Stature, height. 

Este, adj. This. 

Estr, Be, let him be, may be, 3d pers. 
sing, imper. and pres. subj. of Estar. 

Esteme, Be to me. 

Estilo, s. m. Style, manner, duty. 

Esto, pron. That, this. 

Estcy, I am, 1st per. pres. ind. of Estar. 

Estrella, s. f. Star. 

Estrui ndo, s. m. Great noise, hubbub. 

Exhort ar, v. To exhort. 

Exhortaron, They exhorted, 3d pers. 
past ind. of Exnortar. 

ExhortarSnme, They exhorted me. 

Extensa, adj. F.xtent. — Par exi 
detail. 



81 



HOIt 



Extrano, adj. Strange. 

Extraor dinar iamentc, adv. Excessively. 



Faltar, v. To fail. 

Faltare, It may want, 3d pers. fut. sub. 

of Faltar. 
Falte, Wanted pers. sing, imperative of 

Faltar. 
Fama, s. f. Rumour, fame. — Legun is 

fama, According to report, as it is said. 
Fatiga, Fatigues, 3d pers. pres. ind. of 

Fatigar. 
Fatigar, To fatigue. 
Fe, s. f. Fact. 
Ferula, s. f. Rod. 
Fiel, adj. Faithful. 
Figura, Fancy, 2d pers. sing, imperative 

of Figurar. 
Figurar, v. To figure. 
Figurate, Figure to yourself. 
Filosofo, s. m. Philosopher. 
Fortuna, s. f. Fate. 
Forzar, v. To force. 
Fue, Was, went, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Ser and Ir. 
Fut, "Was, 1st pers. past ind. of Ser. 
Fuente, s. f. Spring, fountain. 
Fuera, Might be, 1st and 3d pers. cond. 

subj. of Ser. 
Fuera, adv. Out, beyond. 
Fuere, Should go, 3d pers. fut. subj. of 

Ser. 
Fuerza, Forces, 3d pers. pres. ind. of 

Forzar. 
Furioso, adj. Furious. 



G 



Ganadero, s. m. Grazier. 

Ganado, s. m. Flock. 

Gesto, s. m. Gest, grimace. 

Gobiemo, s. m. Government, manage- 
ment. 

Golpe, s. m. Stroke, thump. 

Golpear, v. To strike, — subs. Striking. 

Gordo, adj. Fat. 

Gran, adj. Great, grand. 

Grande, adj. Great, grand. 

Griego, adj. Greek. 

Guardado, Reserved, past part, of 
Guardar. 

Guardaba, Tended, guarded, 3d pers. 
imperfect of Guardar. 

Guardar, v. To guard. 

Gustaban, Enjoyed, 3d pers. imperfect 
ind. of Gustar. 

Gustabanme, I enjoyed. 

Gustar, v. To please. 

Gusto, s. m. Taste. 



II 



Ha, It has, has, 3d pers. pres. ind. of 

Haber. 
Haber, v. To have, to be, having. 
Haberme, Having me. 



| Habia, I had, he had, she had, there 

was, he was, it was, 1st and 3d pers. 

imperf. ind. of Haber. 
Hainan, Had, they had, 3d pers. imperf. 

ind. of Haber. 
Habil, adj. Able. 
Habilidad, s. m. Ability. 
Hablar, v. To speak. 
Hablo, He spoke, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Hablar. 
Habrd, Will have, there will be, 3d pers. 

fut. ind. of Haber. 
Hace, Makes, 3d pers. pres. ind. of Ha- 

cer. — Si hace noche, When it is night. 
Haeer, v. To do, to make, doing. 
Hacerle, To make him. 
Hacerme, To make me. 
Hacia, prep. Towards. 
Hacian, Made, 3d pers. imperf. ind. of 

Hacer. 
Haga, May do, may make, 1st and 3d 

pers. pres. subj. of Hacer. — Que no 

se me haga, Let not be done to me. 
Hallaban, They found, 3d pers. imperf. 

ind. of Hallar. 
Hollar, v. To find. 
Hallarse, To find one's self, to find 

yourself. 
Hambre, s. f. Hunger. 
Han, Have, 3d pers. pres. ind. of Haber. 
Hare, Shalldo, I st per. fut. ind. of Hacer. 
Has, Thou hast, 2d pers. pres. ind. of 

Haber. — Has de saber, You must 

know. 
Hasta, prep. For, until, till. 
Hay, There is. 
Haz, Do, make, 2d pers. sing, imper. of 

Hacer. 
Hazaha, s. f. Exploit, deed. 
He, Have, 1st pers. pres. ind. of Haber. 
He alii, There now ! — He ahi lo que yo 

dije, What ! I told you. 
He aqui, There is, here is. 
Hecho, Made, past part, of Hacer. 
Hecho, s. m. Exploit, deed. 
Hemos, We have, 1st pers. pres. ind. of 

Haber. 
Herb; v. To wound. 
Hermano, s. m. Brother. 
Hiciera, He would make, 3d pers. cond. 

subj. of Hacer. 
Hiciesen, Might make, 3d pers. past 

subj. of Hacer. 
Hiere, Stuns, 3d per. pres. ind. of Herir. 
Hierro, s. m. Iron. 
Hijo, s. m. Son, child. 
Hija, s. f. Daughter, child. 
Historia, s. f. History, tale. 
Hizo, Did, acted, 3d pers. sing, past inf. 

of Hacer. 
Hqja, s. f. Leaf. 
Hombre, s. m. Man. 
Hombro, s. m. Shoulder. 
Hombruna, adj. f. Masculine. 
Homecillo, s. m. Hatred, misanthropy. 
Honradamentc, adj. Honourably. 
Hora, s. f. Hour. 
Horror, s. m. Horror. 



L 



LIS 

Hubiera, Had had, he had, 1st and 3d 

pers. cond. subj. of Haber. 
Hubieron, They had, 3d pers. past ind. 

of Haber. 
Humano, adj. Human. 
Humedece, Water, 3d pers. pres. ind. 

of Humedecer. 
Humedecer, v. To water. 



Iba, It went, 2d pers. imperf. ind. of lr. 
Iglesia, s. f. Church. 
Ignorar, v. To be ignorant of. 
Imagination, s. f. Imagination. 
Incentivo, s. m. Incentive. 
Incesable, adj. Continual. 
Incomparable, adj. Incomparable. 
Industria, s. f. Industry, address. 
Infinito, adv. Infinitely. 
Infundir, v. To inspire. 
higenin, s. m. Wit. 
Immediatamente, adv. Immediately. 
Inatante, s. m. Instant. 
Insula, s. f. Island. 
Intimo, adj. Interior, depth. 
Intrepido, adj. Intrepid. 
Ir, v. To go. 
Irse, Go away. 

Jnijs.Thou shaltgo,2d pers.fut.ind. of //•. 
Izquierdo, adj. Left. 



Jamas, adv. Never, ever. 
Junior, v. To join. 
Junta, adv. Close, near, by. 
Junto, Joined, past part, of Junior. 
Jurar, v. Swear. 

L 

La, art. The, that. 

La, pron. Her, it. 

Lagrima, B. )'. Tear. 

Lanzon, s. m. Lance. 

l.'in/'tmcnte, adv. Largely. 

/..'.■.', art. f. plu The. 

Las, pron. Them. 

Lastima, Wounds, 3d pers. pres. ind. of 

Lattimar. 
Lastimar, v. To wound, to offend. 
Latino, adj. Latin. 

Le, pron. Him, it, to him, to it, to you. 
Lector, s. in. Reader. 
Leer, v. To read, reading. 
. adj. Loyal. 

. Head, past part, of Leer. 
Lejoe, adv. Far. 
Lengua, s. f. Tongue. 
Les, pron. Them, to them. 
Levantado, adj. Elevated. 
Librar, To free, to deliver. — En Lib- 

rarle, In rescuing you. 
Libre, adj. Free. 
Ligadvra, s. f. Ligature, bond. 

■-. t. Line. 
Lisonjeaba, Flattered, 1st and 3d pers. 

imperf. ind. of Lisonjear. 



82 MAS 

Lisonjear, v. To flatter. 
Llamaba, Called, 1st and 3d pers. im- 
perf. ind. of Lhimar. 
Llamabase, He was called. 
Llamada, Called. 
Llamar, v. To call, to name. 
Llamarse, To be called, to call himself. 
Llamas, Callestthou, 2d pers. pres. ind. 

of Llamar. 
Llegaba, Arrived, 3d pers. imper. ind. 

of Lie gar. 
Llegaban, Arrived, trespassed, 3d pers. 

imperf. ind. of Llegar. 
Llegando, Arriving, part. pres. of Llegar. 
Llegandose, Approaching. 
Llegar, v. To arrive, to approach. 
Llego, Arrived, he arrived, 3d pers. 

past ind. of Llegar. 
Llegue, Arrive, 3d pers. pres. subj. of 

Llegar. 
Lleno, adj. Full. 
Llevaba, She carried, he conducted, 1st 

and 3d pers. Imperf. ind. of Llevar. 
Llevar, v. To carry a way. to take, to lead. 
Llevase, Might be carried, 1st and 3d 

pers. past subj. of Llevar. 
Llevo, He carried, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Llevar. 
Llevume, He took me. 
Llorar, v. To weep.to lament, to deplore. 
Llore, May deplore, 1st pers. pres. subj. 

of Llorar. 
Lo, art. The. 
Lo, pron. It, that, the thing. — Lo que. 

What. 
Logica, s. f. Logic. 
Lograr, v. Acquire. 
Logri, I acquired, 1st pers. past ind. of 

Lograr, 
Logres, Thou obtainest, 2d pers. pre9. 

subj. of Lograr. 
Los, art. m. pi. The. 
Lucgo,adv. Recently, lately, afterwards, 

soon. 
Lugar, s. m. Place, village. 
Luna, s. f. Moon. 



M 



Madre, s. f. Mother, bed of a river. 

Maestro, s. m. Master. 

Mai, s. in. Evil. 

Mala, adj. Sad. 

Malhadado, adj. Unfortunate, unlucky. 

Monona, s. f. Morning. 

Manera, b. f. Manner, degree. 

Mono, s. f. Hand. 

Mm/so, adj. Gentle. 

Manleado, adj. Tossed in a blanket. 

Manteista, s. m. Robed student. 

Mantener, v. To maintain. 

Mantenerte, Keep thyself. 

Maravillarse, To be astonished. 

Maravillo, I marvel, I wonder, 1st pers. 

pres. ind. of Mururillur. 
Marchar, v. To march. 
Marie, proper name, Mars. 
Mas. adv. More, much, must. 



NAC 



83 



Mas, conj. But. 

Materia, s. f. Matter. 

Mayor, adj. Greater, greatest, oldest. 

Me, pron. Me, myself, to me. 

Medio, adv. Half. — Media noche, Mid- 
night. 

Medroso, adj. Timorous. 

Mejor, adj. Better, best. 

Memoria, s. f. Memory, list. 

Menear, v. To stir. 

Menease, Might stir, 3d pers. past subj. 
of Menear. 

Menester, s. m. Need, necessity. 

Menos, adv. Less, least. 

Menuda, adj. Short, small, fine. 

Merced, s. f. Grace. 

Mes, s. m. Month. 

Messes, Months, plur. of Mes. 

Meter, v. To put. 

Mezelar, v. To mix, to meddle, 

Mezelarme, Interfere, meddle. 

Mi, adj. My. 

Mi, pron. Mine. 

Mia, pron. Mine, my. 

Miedo, s. m. Fear, dread. 

Milagro, s. m. Miracle. 

Mio, pron. Mine. 

Mirando, Looking, seeking, pres, part, 
of Mirar. 

Mirar, v. To seek, to regard, to guard. 

Misma, adj. f. Same. 

Mismo, adj. m. Same, self. 

Mitigar, v. To mitigate. 

Modo, s. m. Mode, manner De modo 

que, So that. 

Monarquia, s. f. Monarchy. 

Montar, To mount. 

Monte, I mounted, 1st pers. past ind. of 
Montar. 

Monte, s. m. Mountain. 

Morir, v. To die. 

Mostrar, v. To show. 

Mostre, I showed, 1st pers. past ind. of 
Mostrar. 

Mover, v. To move. 

Movido, Moved, past part, of Mover. 

Moza, s. f. Girl. 

Muchas, adj. fem. plur. Many. 

Mucho, adj. and adv. Much. 

Muchos, Many, plur. of Mucho. 

Muda, s. f. Ointment. 

Muerto, adj. Dead. 

Muestra, It appears, 3d pers. pres. ind. 
of Mostrar. 

Mueva, May move, 3d pers. pres. subj. 
and Let him move, 3d pers. impera- 
tive of Mover. 

Muger, s. f . Wife, woman. 

Mula, s. f. Mule. 

Mundo, s. m. World. 

Murio, Died, 3d pers. past ind. of Morir. 

Muslo, s. m. Thigh. 

Mug, adv. Very, much. 

N 
Nacer, v. To be born. 
Naci, Was born, 1st pers. past ind. of 
Nacer. 



Nacido, Born, past part, of Nacer. 

Nacimiento, s. m. Birth. 

Naciste, Wast born, 2d pers. past ind. 

of Nacer. 
Nada, adv. Nothing, anything. 
Nadie, pron. Any one, no one. 
Natural, adj. Natural. 
Naturalmente, adv. Naturally. 
Negocio, s. m. Negociation, business. 
Negro, adj. Black, sad. 
Ni, conj. Neither, nor. — Ni ni, Neither, 

nor. 
Ningun, adj. Any, none. 
Ninguna, adj. Any, none. 
Nino, adj. Young. 
No, adv. Not. 
Noche, s. f. Night. 
Nos, pron. Us, ourselves. 
Notar, v. To remark. 
Notas, Thou markest, 2d pers. pres. ind. 

of Notar. 
Note, Mark, 3d per. pres. subj. of Notar. 
Neustra, adj. f. Our. 
Neustro, adj. m. Our. 
Nuevo, adj. New. 
Numero, s. m. Number. 
Nunca, adv. Never, in no way. 



O 

O, conj. Or. — 0, 6, Either, or. 
Obligacion, s. f. Obligation. 
Obra, s. f. Office, execution, operation. 
Ota, He heard, 3d pers. ituperf. ind. of 

Oir. 
Oido, Heard, past part, of Oir. 
Oido, s. m. Ear. 
Oir, v. To hear. 
Oirnos, To hear us. 
Ojo, s. m. Eye. 
Ola, interj. Ho. 
Ordenado, Ordained, past. part, of Or- 

denar. 
Ordenar, v. To ordain. 
Oro, s. m. Gold. 
Oscuridad, s. f. darkness. 
Osarse, Daring. 
Oscur, adj. fem. obscure. 
Otra, adj. f. Other, another. — De otra, 

In any other manner. 
Oyeron, They heard, 3d pers. past ind. 

of Oir. 
Oyo, Heard, 3d pers. past ind. of Oir. 



Padre, s. m. Father. 

Padrino, s. m. Godfather. 

Pago, s.m. Payment, salary, recompence. 

Palabra, s. f. Word. 

Para, prep. For. 

Parando, Stopping, pres. part. oiParar. 

Parandose, Stopping themselves. 

Parar, v. To stop. 

Parece, It appears, 3d pers. pres. ind. of 

Parecer. 
Parecer, To appear. 
Pared, Appeared, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Parecer. 



l'OB 



fe4 



PUE 



Parecile, It appeared to him. 
Pareciamos, We appeared, 1st pers. im- 

perf. ind. of Parecer. 
Parecio, Appeared, 3d pers. past. iud. 

of Parecer. 
Pareciole, It appeared to him. 
Parte, s. f. Place, source, cause, part — 

De otra parte, Besides. 
Partir, v. To go forth, to divide, to part. 
Pasa, Pass, 2d pers. sing, imperative of 

Pasar. — Pasa adelante, Continue. 
Pasaba, Passed, 1st and 3d pers. imperf. 

ind. of Pasar. 
Pasaban, Passed, 3d pers. imperf. ind. 

of Pasar. 
Pasado, Passed, transported, past part. 

of Pasar. 
Pasage, s. m. Passage. 
Pasando, Passing, part. pres. of Pasar. 
Pasar, v. To pass, to cross, to carry over. 
Pasdron, Passed, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Pasar. 
Pasaronse, They went. 
Pasase, Could pass, could transport, he 

should transport, 1st and 3d pers. past 

subj. of Pasar. 
Paso, Carried over, 3d pers. past ind. 

of Pasar. 
Paso, s. in. Pace, step. 
Pastor, s. m. Shepherd, pastor, herd. 
Pastora, s. f. Shepherdess. 
Pat, i da, s. f. Kick. 
Pavor, b, in. Fear. 
Pecho, s. m. 1! 

Pedante, s. m. Pedant, pedagogue. 
Pedazo, p. m. Piece. 
Pcdir, v. To B*k. 
Peine, b. m. Comb. 
Peligro, a, m. Peril, danger. 
Pehgroso, a-l.i. Dangerous. 
Pena, >. m. Suffering, pain. 

do, Penetrated, past part, of 

Penetrar. 
Penetrar, v. To penetrate. 
Ptnsaba, Thought, 1st and 3d pers. im- 
perf. ind. of Petuar. 
. v. To tliinL. 
Fequcno, adj. Little. 
Perdt r, v. To lose. 
Perece, Perishes, 3d pers. pres. 

Perectr. 
Pereccr, v. To perish. 
Pero, conj. Hut. 
Persona, s. f. Person. 
Pisadumbre, s. f. Chagrin, inquietude, 

anxiety. 
Pesrador, s. m. Fisherman. 
I'ida, Kequire, 3d pers. pres. subj. of 

PedSr. 
PiS, b. in. Foot. 

Looses, 3d pers. pres. iud. of 

Perdt r. 
Pierna, s. f. Leg. 
J'inlar, v. To paint, to describe. 
Pinto, Describe, 1st. pers. pres. ind. of 

Pintur. 
Plegaria, s. f. Supplication, prayer. 
Pobre, adj. Poor. 



Poco, s. no. adj. and adv. Little. 
Pocos, adv. plur. of Poco, Few. 
Podamos, "We may, 1st pers. pres. subj. 

of Poder. 
Podemos, "We can, 1st pers. pres. ind. of 

Poder. 
Poder, v. To be able, may, can, should, 

would. 
Podia, Could, I could, he could, 1st and 

3d pers. imperf. iud. of Poder. 
Podian, It could, 3d pers. imperf. ind. 

of Poder. 
Podra, Will be able, 3d pers. fut. ind. of 

Poder. 
Podras, Thou wilt be able, 2d pers. fut. 

ind. of Poder. 
Podremos, AVe may, 1st pers. fut. ind. 

of Poder. 
Poet a, s. m. Poet. 
Poner, v. To put. — Poner las piernas 

al cdbaUo, To spur, to urge. 
Ponerme, To put me. 
Ponia, He put, 3d pers. imperf. ind. of 

Poner. 
Por, prep. For, through, by, at. 
Porque, conj. Because, why. 
Portia r, v. To strive. 
Posible, adj. Possible. 
Prado, s. m. Prairie, park. 
Prebenda, s. f. Prebend. 
Preceptor, s. m. Preceptor, teacher. 
Preeuado, Obliged, past part, of Pre- 
cis, ir. 
Precisar, To force, to oblige. 
Predicar, v. To preach. 
Preguntar, v. To ask. 
Pregunti, Asked, 1st pers. past ind. of 

Preguntur. 
Presto, adv. Promptly, soon. 
Pretention, s. f. Pretension. 
Principio, s. m. Commencement. 
I'rimiitir, v. To promise. 
Prometido, Promised, past part, of 

Promcter. 
Proponer, v. To propose. 
Proponerlet, To propose to them. 
Pr opo n er m e, Propose to me. 
Proseguir, v. To pursue, to continue. 
Prosigue, Go on, continue, 9d pers. sing. 

imperative of Prosegmir. 
ProtiguiS, Continued, 3d pers. past ind. 

of Proeeguir. 
I'uiln, Could, he was able, 3d pers. past 

ind. iif J'mli r. 
Pudieee, He could, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Poder. 
Pueda, Can, may bo able, I can, 1st and 

3d pers. pres. subj. of P»'l>r. 
Puedc, Is possible, it may be, can, may, 

3d pers. pres. ind. of Poder. 
I',,., I, s, Mayest, canst, thou canst, 2d 

pers. pres. ind. of Poder. 
Pues, adv. conj. and interj. Since, then, 

well. 
Puesto, Placed, past part, of Poner. — 

Puesto que, conj. Although, at the same 

time. 
Puesto, s. in. Pluce, post, appointment. 



RES 85 

Punto, e. m. Point, moment. 
Pusieran, Inspired, 3d pers. cond. subj. 

of Porter. 
Puso, He put, 3d pers. past ind. of Porter. 



SEN 



Que, coiij. As, than, if. — Qui a lo que a 

mi me, For as. 
Que, pron, "Who, which, that, what, 

whereat, wherefore. — Lo que, Which, 

what. — La que, Which. 
Queda, Remain, 2d pers, sing, imper. of 

Quedar. 
Quedate, Remain thee. 
Quedaba, Remained, 1st and 3d pers. 

imperf. ind. of Quedar. 
Quedar, v. To remain. 
Quedaron, Remained, 3d pers. past ind. 

of Quedar. 
Quedo, He became, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Quedar. 
Quedo, adj. Quiet, tranquil, peaceable. 
Quereis, Will wish, 2d pers. fut. ind. of 

Querer. 
Querer, v. To wish, to love, to desire, 

will,— subs. Will. 
Querido, Wished, desired, loved, past 

part, of Querer. 
Quien, pron. Whom, he who, whomso- 
ever, any one. 
Quiera, May wish, 3d pers. pres. subj. 

of Querer. 
Quiere, Wishes, you wish, 3d pers. pres. 

ind. of Querer. 
Quiero, I wish, I mean, 1st pers. pres. 

ind. of Querer. 
Quise, I wished, 1st pers. past ind. of 

Querer. 
Quisiere, Should wish, 3d pers. fut. subj. 

of Querer. 
Quisieres, Thou shalt please, 2d pers. 

fut. subj. of Querer. 
Quiso, "Wished, desired, 3d pers. past 

ind. of Querer. 
Quiza, adv. Perhaps. 



Rasgado, Torn to rags, past part, of 

Rasgar. 
Rasgar, v. To tear up. 
Raya, s. f. Limit, bound. 
Regalar, v. To regale. 
Regalaron, They regaled, 3d pers. past 

ind. of Regalar. 
Reino, s. m. Kingdom. 
Reir, v. To laugh. 
Relieves, s. plu. Fragments. 
Rertta, s. f. Revenue, income. 
Repitiendo, Repeating, pres. part, of 

Repetir. 
Repeiir, v. To repeat. 
Reposo, s. m. Repose. 
Reputacion, s. f. Reputation. 
Resbalozo, adj. Slippy. 
Resolucion, s. f. Resolution. 
Resolver, v. To resolve. 



Resolvio, He resolved, 3d pers. past ind. 

of Resolver. 
Responder, v. To reply. 
Respondio, Replied, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Responder. 
Restccilar, v. To resuscitate. 
Resuelto, adj. Resolved. 
Retirar, v. To retire. 
Retiro, Retired, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Retirar. 
Reventaba, I burned with desire, 1st and 

3d pers. imperf. ind. of Reventar. 
Ria, May smile, 3d pers. subj. of Reir. 
Rico, adj. Rich. 
Rienda, s. f. Rein. 
Rio, s. m. River. 
Risco, s. m. Precipice. 
Rodela, s. f. Buckler. 
Rogar, v. To pray, to beg. 
Ro'lliza, adj. Hardy, romping, rolliking. 
Romano, adj. Roman. 
Rompe, Breaks, bursts, 1st pers. pres. 

ind. of Romper. 
Romper, v. To break. 
Ruego, I beg, 1st pers. pres. ind. of 

Rogar. 
Ruego, s. m. Prayer, entreaty. 
' " >, s. m. Noise. 



Saber, v. To know. 

Sabia, You knew, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Saber. 
Sabio, s. m. Knowledge, wisdom. 
Sacar, v. To draw, to secure. — En sa- 

carle, In rescuing you. 
Saco, s. m. Sack. 
Salario, s. m. Salary. 
Sali, Left, set out, 1st pers. past ind. of 

Salir. 
Salir, v. To go forth, to set out. 
Saltar, v. To leap. 
Salto, Mounted, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Saltar. 
Salto, s. m. Jump, leap, hop. 
Salud, s. f. Safety. 
Salvo, adj. Safe. 
Sazon, s. f. Season. 

Se, pron. Himself, itself, herself, them- 
selves. 
Se, Know, 1st pers. pres. ind. of Saber. 
See, Let it be, 3d pers. sing, imperative 

of Ser. 
Sed, s. f. Thirst. 
Seguia, Followed, 3d pers. imperf. ind. 

of Seguir. 
Seguidamente, adv. Currently, flowingly . 
Seguir, v. To follow, to pursue. 
Segun, prep. According to, as. 
Seis, adj. Six. 
Semejante, adj. Similar. 
Senor, s. m. Signor, sir, gentleman. 
Senora, s. f. Lady. 
Sentencia, s. f. Sentence. 
Sentido, Observed, past part, of Sentir. 
Sentimiento, s. m. Sentiment. 
Sentir, To smell, to observe. 



TAN 



86 



TU 



Separar, v. To separate. 

Separarme, To be severed from. 

Ser, v. To be. 

Sera, It will be, 3d pers. fut. ind. of Ser. 

Servido, Served, past part, of Servir. 

Servir, v. To serve. 

Si, conj. If. 

Si, adj. Yes. 

Si. pron. Himself, herself, itself. 

Sido, Been, past part, of Ser. 

Siete, adj. Seven. 

Sigo, I continue, 1st pers. pres. ind. of 

Seyuir. 
Sigue, Continue, follow, 2d pers. sing. 

imperative of Seguir. 
Sigamos, We may follow, 1st pers. pros. 

subj. of Seguir. 
Silencio, s. m. Silence. 
Sin, prep. Without. 
Sino, conj. But, except. 
Sitio, s. m. Site, place. 
Sobre, prep. Upon. 
Sobresaltan, Overwhelm, 3d pers. pres. 

ind. of Sobretaltar. 
Sobresaltar, v. To frighten, to alarm. 
Sulamcnte, adv. Only. 
Suledad, s. f. Solitude. 
Soler, v. To be accustomed. 
Solo, adj. Single, only, — adv. Alone. 
Son, Arc, 3d pers. pres. ind. of Ser. 
Sonar, v. To sound, to vibrate. 
Sonata, It sounded, 3d pers. import, ind. 

of Sonar. 
Sonaban, Sounded, 3d pers. imperf. ind. 

itir. 

Sordo, adj. Btnnning, deafening. 

Sosegarse,v. To tranquillise himself. 
Sog, Am, 1st pers. pres. ind. of Ser. 
Su, adj. pron. His. her, its, their. 
Sua, plur. of Su, Their. 
Suceder, v. To arrive, to happen. 
Sucedid, It followed) it happened, 3d 

pers. past ind. of Suceder. 
Succso, s. m. Success. 
Sucle, It is accustomed, 3d pers, pres. 

ind. of Soler. 
Suerte, a. t. Fate, destiny. 
Suficientemente, adv. Sufficiently. 
Suminittraba, Supplied, ministered, 1st 

and 3d pers. pres. imperf. of Sumini>- 

trar. 
Stipe, I knew how, I was able, 1st pers. 

ind. of Saber. 
Supo, Knew, 3d pers. past indicative of 

Saber. 
Susurro, s. m. Rustling. 
Sugo, pron. His, hers. 



T.ti, adj. Such. 
Talento, s. m. Talent, genius. 
Talcs, adj. Such. 
Tambien, adv. Also. 
Tun, adv. So, so mueli. 
Tantas, adj. f. plur. So many. 
Tonto, adj. in. s. So much, that. 
Tuntos, adj. m. plur. So many. 



Tardaba, Delayed, 1st and 3d pers. im- 
perf. ind. of Tardar. 
Tardar, v. To delay. 
Tardare, May delay, 3d pers. fut. subj. 

of Tardar. 
Te, pron. Thee, to thee. 
Temeroso, adj. Fearful. 
Temor, s. m. Fear, dread. 
Tendra, Will take, 3d pers. fut. ind. of 

Tener. 
Tener, v. To have, to hold. 
Tenerme, To have me. 
Tenga, Keep, 3d pers. sing, imperative 

of Tener. 
Tenqo, I have, 1st pers. pres. ind. of 

Tener. 
Tenia, Had, I had, I held, I hoped, she 

had, 1st and 3d pers. imperf. hid. of 

Tener. 
Tenian, They had, 3d pers. imperf. ind. 

of Tener. 
Tentar, v. To tempt. 
Terciar, v. To stop, to arrest. 
TerciS, Couched, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Terciar. 
Tt'-rmino, s. m. Limit. 
Ternura, s. m. Tenderness. 
Terrible, adj. Terrible. 
Testimonio, s. m. Testimony. 
Tiempo, s. in. Time. 
Tiene, It has, 3d pers. pres. ind. of Tener. 
Tienee, Thou hast, 2a pers. pies. ind. of 

/'' iter. 
Tiento, a. in. Tact, care. — A tienlo, 

Warily. 
Tierro, s. f. Country, ground, earth. 
Tinieblae, s. f. plur. Darkness. 
Tio, s. m. Uncle. 
Tirana, Inclined, tended, 1st and 3d 

pers. imperf. ind. of Tirar. 
Tirar, v. To draw, to resemble. 
Toda, adj. f. All. 
Todo, adj. and subs. All. 
'I'oilos, adj. All. 

Todavia, adv. Still, yet, always. 
Toman, Take, 3d pers. pres. ind. of 

Totnar. 
Tomando, Taking, pres. part, of Tomar. 
Tomor, v. To take. 
Topaba, Encountered, 1st and 3d pers. 

imperf. ind. of T«p<tr. 
Topabame, I encountered. 
Topar, To encounter. 
Toparemot, We shall discover, 1st pers. 

fut. ind. of To/tar. 
Torcer, v. To shun. 
Tomar, v. To return. 
Tor no, He turned, lie went across, 3d 

pers. past ind. of Tomar. 
TrtM, pre]). After. 
Trataree, To treat himself. 
Trato, s. m. Commerce, intercourse. 
Tres, adj. Three. 
Trescientae, adj. Throe hundred. 
Tristeza, s. f. Affliction, sadness. 
Trueco, s. m. Exchange. 
Tu, adj. Thy. 
Tu, pron. lhou. 



VER 



87 



Turbado, Troubled, past part.of Turbar. 

Turbar, v. To trouble. 

Tuviese, You should keep, 3d pers. past 

subj. of Tener. 
Tuvo, He had, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Tener. 



IT 



Ultimo, adj. Final. 
Un, adj. A, an, one. 
Una, adj. A, an, one. 
Unas, adj. fem. Some. 
Uno, adj. A, an, one. 
Unos, adj. pi. Some. 
Unica, adj. f. Unique, single. 
Universidad, s. f. University. 
Uso, s. m. Use, custom. — A uso, After 
the manner. 



Vale, Is worth, 3d pers. pres. ind. of 
Valer. 

Valer, v. To he worth. 

Va, Goes, 3d pers. pres. ind. of Ir. 

Valeroso, adj. Valorous. 

Valian, Were worth, 3d pers. imperf. 
ind. of Valer. 

Vamos, "We go, 1st pers. pres. ind. of Ir. 

Van, Go, 3d pers. pres. ind. of Ir. — Si 
no me van a la mano, If I am not pre- 
vented. 

Vas, Thou goest, 2d pers. pres. ind. of 
Ir. 

Vaya, May go, 3d pers. pres. subj. of Ir. 

Ve, Sees, 3d pers. pres. ind. of Ver. 

Vea, May see, 3d pers. pres. ind. of 
Ver. 

Veces, Times, pi. of Vez. 

Vedado, Forbidden, past part, of Vedar. 

Vedado, s. m. Interdict, what is for- 
bidden. 

Vedar, v. To forbid. 

Veia, He saw, 3d pers. imperf. ind. of 
Ver. 

Vencedor, s. va. Conqueror. 

Veneer, v. To conquer. 

Vencerme, To conquer myself. 

Vender, v. To sell. 

Venia, Came, was coming, 3d pers. im- 
perf. ind. of Venir. 

Venir, v. To come. 

Venimos, We came, 1st pers. past ind. 
of Venir. 

Ventura, s. f. Chance. — For Ventura, 
Peradventure. 

Veo, I see, 1st pers. pres. ind. of Ver. 

Ver, v. To see. 

Vera, adj. Latin, True, real. 

Verdad, s. f. Truth.— Be Verdad, 
Verily. 

Verdadero, adj. True. 



ZON 

Verde, adj. Green. 

Vez, s. f. Time. 

Viage, s. m. Journey. 

Vida, s. f. Life. 

Viendo, Seeing, pres. part of Ver. 

Viene, Comes* 3d pers. pres. ind. of 

Venir. 
Viento, s. m. Breeze, wind. 
Vieron, They saw, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Ver. 
Viere, I should see, 3d pers. fut. subj . 

of Ver. 
Viesen, Might see, 3d pers. past subj. 

of Ver. 
Viniendo, Coming, pres. part, of Venir. 
Viniere, Should come, 3d pers. fut. subj. 

of Yenir. 
Vio, Saw, he saw, 3d pers. past ind. of 

Ver. 
Virtud, s. f. Virtue. 
Visto, adj. Seen. 
Viver, v. To live. 
Vivo, adj. Awake, lively, alive. 
Voces, Voices, pi. of Voz. 
Voluntad, s. f. Will. 
Volvamos, We may turn, 1st pers. pres. 

subj. of Volver. 
Volver, v. To turn, to return, to change 

position. 
Volverte, Thyself return. 
Volviere, I should return, 1st pers. fut. 

subj. of Volver. 
Volviese, Should be turned, 3d pers. 

past subj. of Volver. 
Volvio, He returned, 3d pers. past ind. 

of Volver. 
Vos, pron. You. 
Voz, s. f. Voice, cry. 
Vuelta, s. f. Turn, return. — Dar una 

vuelta, To execute an enterprise. 
Vueslra, adj. f. Your. 



Y, conj. And. 

Fa, adv. Since, already. — Si ya no es 

que, Unless. 
Yendo, Going. 
Yerba, s. f. Grass. 
Yerra, Errs, 3d pers. pres. ind. of 

Errar. 
Yerro, s. m. Mistake, error. 
Yo, pron. I. 



Zabullida, Sunk, past part, of Zabullir. 

Zabullir, v. To sink, to plunge. 

Zaharena, adj. f. Wild, bold, cross- 
grained. 

Zelillos, s. pi. Little jealousies. 

Zonzorrion, s. m. Caviller, critic. — 
Zonzorino, The censor. 



88 

HOW THE LEARNER SHOULD NOW PROCEED. 

We have said that the first aim of the learner in the study of a lan- 
guage, should be to attain some facility in Reading it. With the aid 
of a good dictionary, and the table of verbs we have given, the 
learner who has gone carefully through the preceding lessons should 
now be able to translate any easy Spanish author without much 
difficulty. We would recommend Gil Bias for his practice in read- 
ing, at least in preference to Don Quixote ; the former is, it is true, 
a translation and the latter a native work, but the style of Father 
Isla (the translator of Gil Bias) is more flowing, and the wit more 
sparkling, than of Cervantes, whose obscure expressions and quaint 
sayings will often only embarrass the beginner. We have already 
given the English of all the words contained in the first chapter of 
Gil Bias ; the learner must now draw out for himself, by means of 
the dictionary, a literal translation of the second chapter, and continue 
translating word for word, into English, until this process becomes 
no longer necessary. The second chapter of Gil Bias begins with 
the sentence, " Ileteme aqui ya fuera dc Oviedo." In order to 
translate this sentence into English, the learner on referring to his 
dictionary will find hite to signify behold; me he already knows to 
be the same in English; aqui lias already occurred in the preceding 
text, and has been translated here; ya has likewise occurred before, 
and has been translated n<>/c and already; either will do; fuera has 
also occurred before, and has been translated out; do the learner 
knows to be </, and Oviedo be knows is the same in English, being 
the name of a place, and so common to both languages. The literal 
meaning of each word being discovered in this way, the entire sen- 
tence will be found to signify in English, "Here I am now out of 
Oviedo/' So in other cases the learner must first find the exact 
meaning of each word in a sentence, and then determine the mean- 
ing of the sentence itself. For a time the learner will have fre- 
quently to refer to his dictionary and to the table of verbs, but as he 
proceeds, these consultations will gradually diminish in frequency, 
and ultimately he will lie able to dispense with the dictionary alto- 
gether ; then, so far as reading the language is concerned, the task 
will lie accomplished. In translating, the learner will do well to 
bear in mind what has been said of the reflective pronoun m, under 
the head CONSTRUCTION', Section III.; what has been said of the 
pronouns generally, Section XXIV., the peculiarities attendant on 
the active verbs mentioned Section XVI., the u-c and application of 
encletics spoken of in Section XIII., and the idiomatic expr 
illustrated. Section XXIV. Without the nature of these charac- 
teristic features in the structure of the language be borne in mind, 
they will obstruct the learner in his progress at every step, and cause 
him to imagine difficulties where none exist. 

We shall now leave the learner to his own efforts, satisfied that 
we have done all for him a master need do — he has nothing now to 
accomplish but what his own industry may achieve — we have left 
him at the threshold of the language without an obstacle to prevent 
his entry. 

NCILSOn A: Moimv, l'» inti-r-.. P 



ROBERTSONIAN METHOD. 



COURSE OF LESSONS 



ITALIAN LANGUAGE, 



INTENDED FOR 



THE USE OF PERSONS STUDYING THE LANGUAGE 
WITHOUT A TEACHER. 



A. H. MONTEITH, ESQ., 



HON. MEMB. VT. L. C- 



SECOND EDITION. 



LONDON: 

SAMUEL GILBERT, BOOKSELLER, 

51 & 52, PATERNOSTER ROW ; 

AND SOLD BY JOHN FIELD, 65, REGENT'S QUADRANT. 

MDCCCXLIII. 



PA ISM. Y : 
V HINTED BY NE1LSON AND HDRBAT. 



PREFACE. 



The object of the present short series of lessons, is to give 
persons who may wish to acquire Italian by themselves, such 
an introduction to the theory and practice of the language as 
may enable -them to prosecute its study with advantage. 

With a view of aiding, as far as possible, the student who 
is disposed to dispense with oral instruction, we have given a 
practical view of the pronunciation, embracing every detail 
that is essential to a correct enunciation of the language. 

There is much in Italian that entitles it to claim the proud 
and lofty position of being the most perfect of all the languages 
that have yet been made the medium of intercourse amongst 
mankind. No language can vie with Italian in the harmony 
of its intonation ; and none, either ancient or modern, has 
attained so perfect a relation between orthography and pro- 
nunciation. Whatever degree of perfection the ancient Greeks 
and Romans may have reached, and however pre-eminent the 
mighty efforts of their genius may stand over the mediocrity 
of later times, their languages were still characterised by the 
chaos from whence they issued. Italian may be considered 
the language of Caesar, wrought by successive ages into form 
and beauty ; it may not possess the bold vigour of its hoary 
ancestor, but it also wants its anomalies and obscurities. 

A knowledge of Italian is deemed an essential requisite in 
an elegant education, so it is studied almost exclusively by 
denizens of fashion. We think that it might also be studied 
with advantage by the learned ; it exhibits the degree of 
perfection of which a language is susceptible — it shows how 



the written and spoken languages of a people may be assi- 
milated, — and so it might suggest a means of imbuing with 
something like stability the English language, which, without 
some effort to strengthen its vitality, is likely, in course of 
time, to become incomprehensible even to the natives them- 
selves. 

To any one possessed of a moderate degree of intelligence, 
the acquisition of Italian can present little difficulty. We have 
consecrated the following lessons to the illustration of points 
most likely to embarrass the beginner ; and we can assure the 
industrious student that, if he follows implicitly the instruc- 
tions we have given him, he will eventually attain a correct 
pronunciation and a perfect knowledge of Italian. 

February, 1843. 



NOTICE TO SECOND EDITION. 



The present edition of this course of lessons has been care- 
fully revised ; some emendations calculated to facilitate the 
learner in comprehending the instructions laid down have been 
introduced. The author takes this opportunity of thanking 
his numerous correspondents for their suggestions relative to 
tin* improvement of his works. 

13, London Wai.i., 
August, 1843. 



THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE. 



LESSON FIRST. 



READING. 

I VIAGGIATORI AVIDI. 
Tre viaggiatori trovarono sulla via un tesoro e 
dissero : noi abbiam fame, che un di noi vada a 
comperar di che mangiare. Un d'essi parti tosto 
coll' intenzione di recar il cibo. 



In order to read the above, the learner will have to be 
taught, first, the pronunciation of the words, and then their 
signification. We shall therefore repeat the text, and place 
under each Italian word such a combination of letters as 
may convey to the English learner a notion of its pronuncia- 
tion, together with accents to point out the syllables on which 
the stress of the voice should be made to repose. This done, 
we shall again repeat the text, and place under each Italian 
word its exact equivalent in English. A careful examination 
of these two tables will enable the learner to pronounce the 
words in Italian with a sufficient degree of accuracy, as also 
to translate the passage we have chosen as the text of our pre- 
sent lesson correctly into English. We may here observe, 
that a little attention bestowed at the outset will be of great 
ultimate advantage ; if the learner forms an accurate concep- 
tion of the value and meaning of the words now, he will ex- 
perience little difficulty with the exercises of the lesson that 
are to follow. 



2 TRANSLATION. 

The following is a repetition of the text, with the pronun- 
ciation and accentuation of each word. 

I VIAGGIATORI AVIDI. 

Ee vee-aj-jee-a-to'-ree a'-ve-dee. 
Tre viaggiatori trovarono sulla via un tesoro 

Tre* vee-aj-jee-a-to'-ree tro-var'-ono sool'-la vee'-a oon tai-so'-ro 

e dissero : noi abbiam fame, che un di noi 
e dees'-ero : no-ee ab-yam' fa'-my, kay oon dee no-ee 

vada a comperar di che raangiare. Un d'essi 
va'-da ah com-prar' dee kay man-ja'-ry. Oon dai'-see 

parti tosto coll'intenzione di recar il cibo. 
par-tee' tos'-to kol-een-ten-tse-on'-ai dee rai-kar' eel chee'bo. 

In reading the pronunciation of the words, the learner 
should pronounce each syllable distinctly, before enunciating 
the entire word, taking care to rest the voice on the syllables 
marked with the accent, and glide over those that are not 
accentuated. 

The learner, after carefully going over the above, should 
read the text itself. He should do so aloud, so as to accustom 
his ear to the sound of the Italian words. 

TRANSLATION. 

The following is the text of the lesson again repeated, with 
the English of the words. 

I VIAOGIATORI AVIDI. 
The travellers avaricious. 

Tre viaggiatori trovarono sulla via un 

Three travellers found on the way a 

tesoro, c dissero: noi abbiam fame, che 

treasure, and they said : we have hunger, that 

un di noi vada a comperar 

one of us go (let one of us go) to to buy 

di che mangiare. Un d'essi parti 

of what (something) to eat Oue of them went away 

tosto coll' intenzione di recar il cibo. 

immediately with the intention of to bring the food. 

Aided by the above translation, the learner will now be able 
to read into English the text as it is printed on the opposite 
page. As the words of the text are to form the basis of the 
other exercises of the lesson, it is essential that they be 
thoroughly known. Before proceeding further, the learner 
should submit himself to a strict examination as to his pro- 
ficiency in this particular. 

* Pronounce , marked thus <\ like t in the word wed. 



CONVERSATION. 



PHRASES. 



It will be observed, from the translation we have given of 
the text, that the Italians use the phrase di che to express the 
English word something, and instead of saying we are hungry, 
say we have hunger. As the two languages vary in this way 
to a considerable extent, it is necessary that the learner make 
himself familiar with the value of the sentences, as well as the 
words : it will be as useful, for example, to bear in mind that 
di and che together signify something, as to know that these 
words individually signify of and what. The learner should 
arrange the sentences of the text, with their English equiva- 
lents in opposite columns, so that he may subject himself to 
an examination as to his knowledge of the sentences, as well 
as the words of the text. 

CONVERSATION'. 

We may now suppose the learner to' be perfectly conversant 
with the words and idiomatic expressions contained in the 
text. The next step is to make a practical application of 
them. In order that this may be done, we shall now construct 
a conversation on the subject of the text, made up of the words 
and expressions it contains. This exercise should be gone 
over aloud, the answers being covered over until a reply has 
been made from recollection. To extend the colloquy as much 
as possible, we shall introduce the following new words, with 
which the learner will have to make himself acquainted : — 



Signore 
Dove? 


Sir . 
where ? 


. . pronounced seen-yo'-rai 
. . „ do'-vy. 


Quando ? 
Chi? 


when? 
who ? 




quan'-do. 
kee. 


Perche 
Si 


why 

yes 


* 5> 

• J5 


per-kay'. 
see. 



The translation and pronunciation of all the words we shall 
introduce in the following exercise having been already given, 
the learner has no difficulty here to encounter. 

Che trovarono i viaggiatori ? . Un tesoro. 
Dove ? ........ Sulla via. 

Trovarona il cibo ? .... Non Signore. 



4 CONSTRUCTION. 

Trovarono di che mangiare ? Non Signore. 

Trovarono un tesoro ? . . Si Signore, trovarono un 

tesoro. 

Che dissero ? Dissero, noi abbiam fame. 

Quando ? Quando trovarono il tesoro. 

Dissero, noi abbiamo di che 

mangiare ? Non Signore. 

Dissero, noi abbiamo il cibo ? Non Signore. 

Che dissero ? Dissero, noi abbiam fame. 

Dissero, che un di noi vada ? Si Signore, dissero, che un di 

noi vada a comperar di 
che mangiare. 

Quando ? Quando trovarono il tesoro. 

Parti un d'essi ? .... Si Signore, un d'essi parti. 

Perche ? Per comperar di che mangiare. 

Chi trovo un tesoro ? . . . I viaggiatori. 

Quando trovarono il tesoro, Dissero, che un di noi vada a 

che dissero ? . . . . comperar il cibo. 

Quando dissero, noi abbiam 

fame ? Quando trovarono il tesoro. 
Quando i viaggiatori dissero, 

che un di noi vada a 

comperar di che mangiare 

rlii parti ? Un d'essi. 

Quando parti Tun d'essi? . Parti tosto. 

CONSTRUCTION. 

Under the head Construction, we shall bring into view- 
such points of the text as exhibit the general structure of the 
language. Our object in this, is to furnish the learner with 
some rules and principles, to guide him in writing Italian. 

I. 

I II I ARTICLE. 

I viaggatori avidi . The avaricious travellers 
Sa-lo via .... On the road. 
// cibo The food. 

It will be seen from the above phrases, quoted from the text, 
that the English word the is rendered in Italian by a variety 
of words ; in one case the is represented by ?', in another by la. 
and in a third bv il ; and. as these different forms of the Italian 



CONSTRUCTION. 5 

equivalent /or the English article cannot be employed indis- 
criminately, it is necessary that the learner should know when 
to use the one, and when the other. 

In Italian, as in most other languages, there are only two 
genders, the masculine and the feminine ; all objects in nature, 
as well as men and women, being said to be either male or 
female ; the word door, for example, in Italian is feminine, 
whilst the word knocker is said to be masculine. 

This distinction of inanimate objects by gender has its use. 
In English, the words the host may mean either an army or 
a licensed victualler ; in the same way in Italian, the word oste 
may either signify an army or a tavern-keeper ; but in the one 
case the word is said to be feminine, in the other masculine ; 
and a different form of the article being employed under these 
two circumstances, the meaning intended to be conveyed by 
the word is thus clearly indicated. 

Besides the forms of the article employed to point out the 
genders of nouns, there is another set employed to distinguish 
the number. In English, when more than one of an object is 
spoken of, an s is added to the singular form of the word, as 
the king, the kings. An s is never employed in Italian for this 
purpose, and it very often happens that a word has precisely 
the same form in the plural that it has in the singular — as il re\ 
the king, i re, the kings — the distinction of number depending 
entirely upon the form of the article. 

The article serving so many important purposes, the necessity 
of becoming familiar with its various forms and the cases in 
which they are employed is apparent. The following table, 
if carefully committed to memory, will enable the learner to 
render the English article in all cases correctly. 

Before masculine nouns* the is rendered by il, as — 

II signore .... The gentleman. 
II tesoro .... The treasure. 
II cibo The food. 



* We shall not at present give rules for distinguishing the genders 
of nouns ; the learner must in the mean time judge the genders of the 
words in the text by the articles he finds before them. 



6 CONSTRUCTION. 

But when the word begins with a vowel, the z'/js changed 
into l\ as — 

L'avido The miser. 

L'inglese .... The Englishman. 
L'italiano .... The Italian. 

Before feminine nouns the is rendered by la, as — 

La Signora . . . The lady. 

La via The way. 

La povera .... The poor woman. 

As in the case of the masculine article, la before a vowel is 
abridged in /', as — 

L'avida The female miser. 

L'intenzione . . . The intention. 
L'italiana .... The Italian woman. 

Before masculine nouns in the plural, the is rendered by I, 
as — 

I Signori .... The gentlemen. 

I tesori The treasures. 

I cibi The eatables. 

But when a masculine noun in the plural begins with a vowel, 
i is changed to gli*, as — 

Gli avidi .... The misers. 

Gl' inglesi .... The Englishmen. 

Gl' italiam .... The Italians. 

the i of the gli being elided before another i. 

Before a feminine noun in the plural, the is rendered by le, 
as — 

Le Signore . . . The ladies. 

Le vie The ways. 

Le intension] . . . The intentions. 

These then are the various points to be attended to by the 
learner in translating the English article the. It is also to be 



* For the pronunciation o( yli, sec article Pronunciation, pag« 



15. 



CONSTRUCTION. 7 

observed, that when a word begins with z or an s, followed 
by another consonant, the is rendered by lo, and by gli in the 
plural. 

It will be seen by the foregoing table, that masculine nouns 
generally end in o, and have i in the plural ; that feminine 
nouns generally end in a, and have e in the plural. The 
same is the case with adjectives, which must agree in gender 
and number with the noun they accompany, as — 

La bella Signora. . The beautiful lady. 

We shall give some phrases in English, under the head 
Composition, to be translated into Italian, in order that the 
learner may make a practical application of these observations. 

II. 

Noi abbiam di che mangiare. We have something to eat. 
Noi abbiamo il tesoro . . . We have the treasure. 

In the above sentences we have the word corresponding in 
Italian to the English have, written in one case abbiam, and 
in another abbiamo. The reason of this is, that all words in 
Italian end in a vowel, but this final vowel may be omitted 
whenever such an omission contributes to the harmony of a 
sentence. The application of this singular attribute in Italian 
words is, except in a few instances, quite arbitrary ; the 
learner may omit or employ the final vowel, as well in writing 
as in pronunciation, according to the dictates of his own 
taste : this is a matter of euphony in which he is entirely left 
to himself. 

III. 

Abbiam di che mangiare . We have something to eat. 
Trovarono un tesoro . . They found a treasure. 

As in the case of final vowels, the use or omission of the 
pronouns I, we, you, they, etc., is optional. The Italian verbs 
express these words in their terminations, and consequently in 
cases where no particular emphasis is wanted it is better to 
omit them. In ordinary conversation, we would not say, " noi 
abbiamo un tesoro," but simply " abbiamo un tesoro," the noi, 
we, being in such a case in a great measure superfluous. 



8 CONSTRUCTION. 

IV. 

HOW TO ASK A QUESTION. 

Abbiamo di che mangiare ? Have we anything to eat ? 
Perche parti ? . . . . Why did he go away ? 

In English, in asking a question, the practice is to place the 
pronoun after the verb, as — Have we anything to eat? We 
have said that the pronouns are not expressed in Italian ; it 
follows then that a question must be put in the latter language 
precisely in the same words as the affirmation ; thus, if abbiamo 
di che mangiare signifies " we have something to eat," the 
same words, with a note of interrogation at the end, will also 
signify " have we anything to eat ?" 

Under certain circumstances, it is the practice in English to 
use the words do and did in asking questions ; there are no 
such words as do and did in Italian. The word parti means 
" he went away ;" so parti t signifies " did he go away ? — the 
word dissero is " they said ;" so dissero ? is " did they say ?" 
The construction of a question in Italian is therefore a matter 
of the utmost possible simplicity. 

V. 

Che un di noi vada . . Let one of us go. 

The learner should not rest satisfied in the study of a language 
with merely what is told him. An intelligent student will 
endeavour to find out for himself a great many things. By 
considering the words of any particular idiom he will endeavour 
to discover for himself in what it consists, and so dip a little 
deeper into the subject than what meets his eye. By such 
means not only a thorough knowledge of a language will be 
obtained, but also such a critical acquaintance with it as may 
aid him in the study of cognate subjects. It would be difficult 
for us to explain at length all the peculiarities of structure that 
occur in the short portion of text we have given as the subject 
of the present lesson ; there are man)- phrases, BUch as that we 
have cited above, whereof the learner must discover the logic 
for himself; and certainly no great degree of mental exertion 
is necessary to eomprehend why " that one of us may go" 



CONSTRUCTION. V 

signifies " one of us must go ;" but in tracing such relations 
and exercising the ingenuity in logically identifying an assem- 
blage of words with the meaning they convey, consists the true 
art of acquiring language ; and by this kind of inquiry the 
learner will not only benefit himself, but he will benefit us, in so 
far as he will profit the more by our instructions, and so promote 
the practical effect and increase the utility of our method. 

VI. 

Sulla via .... On the road. 
Coll' intenzione . . With the intention. 
Dei viaggiatori . . Of the travellers. 

The above sentences occurring in the text, exhibit to us a 
peculiarity in the Italian construction that requires to be spe- 
cially noted. In English, the words do not are very generally 
abbreviated into don't, and it is are not unfrequently made to 
assume the form 'tis. Something similar takes place in Italian, 
subject however to fixed and determined rules, which must in 
all cases be followed. When in Italian any of the preposi- 
tions, of, at, to, from, with, or in, are immediately followed 
by a form of the article 4he, the preposition combines with 
the article and gives birth to a new word. As an example of 
this, we shall exhibit the combinations formed by the preposi- 
tion di, of, in conjunction with the various forms of the article 
the. 

di and il form del, as del tesoro, of the treasure. 

de'tesori, of the treasures. 
della carne, of the meat. 
delle carni, of the meats. 
dell' avido, of the miser. 
degli avidi, of the misers. 



as nel tesoro, in the treasure. 
„ ne'tesori, in the treasures. 
,, nella carne, in the meat. 
„ nelle carni, in the meats. 
„ nelPavido, in the miser. 
„ negli avidi, in the misers. 



di 


>) 


i 


55 


dei or 


de' 


di 


55 


la 


55 


della, 




di 


55 


le 


55 


delle, 




di 


1) 


1' 


55 


dell', 




di 


33 


gli 


55 


degli, 




i the same 


way 






in 


and il form nel, 




in 


33 


l 


55 


nei or 


ne' 


in 


33 


la 


55 


nella, 




in 


35 


le 


55 


nelle, 




in 


33 


1' 


55 


nell', 




in 


35 


gli 


55 


negli, 





10 , CONSTRUCTION. 

It will be seen then, that o/and the, when together are not 
written di and il, or di and la, but are rendered by del before 
a masculine noun, and della before a feminine word ; in the 
same way the preposition con, with, and il form col ; the pre- 
position per, for, and il form pel ; the preposition sw, on, and 
?7 form sw/ ; the preposition a, to, or at, and ?7 form al ; and 
the preposition da, from, and ?7 form dal. These combina- 
tions going through precisely the same series of changes as the 
words del and nel that we have declined in full. 

It is necessary that the learner make himself familiar with 
the nature of this union of article and preposition, as in writing- 
Italian he will scarcely meet with a sentence of which one or 
other of these combinations do not form a part. 



VII. 



No, Signore No, Sir. 

Conversation is undoubtedly the primary aim of every one 
who studies a modern tongue — all who begin the study of a 
living language, do so in the hope of one day or other being 
able to speak it. Aid to the learner in attaining this object, 
we should imagine, ought to be afforded by the elementary 
treatises on the subject ; but so far from this being the case, 
we have not seen any book in the English language that 
professes to assist the learner in speaking Italian. Apart from 
any other advantage our method may be found to possess, it 
will at least be found to render the learner some assistance in 
this important matter. Teachers appear generally to suppose 
that the learner should be taught all the words of a language, 
and all the desinences of the words, before he is taught 
its colloquial use. We conceive that a learner cannot be too 
early introduced to the practice of a language : we think that 
as soon as a few words are known, they may be advantageously 
made use of. in illustrating the prineiples of conversation. 

In § IV. we have explained the manner of asking a ques- 
tion ; we have now to show how a question is answered in 
where a negation is to be expressed. 



CONSTRUCTION. 11 

It will be observed, from the sentence quoted at the head of 
this article, that the negative particle wo, is used in precisely 
the same manner and under similar circumstances in Italian as 
in English. 

When, however, a negative sentence embraces an entire 
proposition, a different kind of expression is employed. In 
Italian, the negation is constructed by putting the negative 
particle non before the verb of the sentence, in the following 
manner — 

Non so I do not know. 

Non trovarono un tesoro . They did not find a treasure. 

If the phrase abbiam fame expresses we are hungry ', then 
non abbiam fame will express we are not hungry, and so in all 
other cases the word non is placed before the verb of the 
affirmative form of the sentence — to say more on this subject 
would only be to complicate the matter. 

It will be necessary for the learner to bear in mind, in 
translating a negative sentence into Italian, that the words do 
and did, often found in English negations, are a sort of exuber- 
ance of the English idiom, and are not found employed in the 
same way in any other language. The learner will have to 
observe that the expressions 

I do not know. 
I did not know. 

may be expressed quite as well, so far as the sense is concerned, 
by- 

I know not. 
I knew not. 

The former of these manners of speaking, that containing 
the do and did, cannot be rendered literally into Italian, whilst 
the latter may be translated word for word, thus : 

Non so. 
Non sapeva. 

We mention this matter more particularly, as we have often 
found beginners very much at a loss what to make of the do's 
and did's in translating English negations. 



12 CONSTRUCTION. 

VIII. 

La via The way. 

In all languages there are certain words which, though the 
same in orthography, are very different in meaning ; this is the 
case with some of the words that represent the article the in 
Italian ; and as these words are very much employed in both 
their significations, it is necessary that the learner be able to 
distinguish when they are used in one sense, and when in 
another. When the words lo, la, gli, le, are used before a 
noun, as in the case of la, in the sentence we have quoted 
above, they are articles, and are equivalent to the in English ; 
but when they occur with a verb, they are no longer articles, 
but pronouns, and require to be translated in the following 
manner — 

Lo, with a verb, by him or it, 
I . u, .. her or it. 

(H<, „ to him, to them* 

/-*, ,, tin 1)1. 

Thus, if the learner meets with lo trovarono, he will be aware, 
that as trovarono implies an action, lo will have to be rendered 
by him or it in English. In our next conversational exercise 
we shall introduce these words in both their capacities, and 
shall expect the learner to discriminate their meaning without 
any further explanation. 



IX. 

Via signori . . . Come along, gentlemen. 

The word via in the text of our lesson has simply the signi- 
fication of a way or road. Via has however a variety of other 
significations in Italian, amongst which the most remarkable 
is the one it has in the sentence given above. Via is com- 
monly used with the verb to go, in the same way as the 
English adverb away : thus, go away is in Italian andate via ; 
an expression generally used in eases where be <>//' with yam 
would !>e used in English. We shall in this way occasionally 



CONSTRUCTION. 13 

allude to the idiomatic use of words occurring in our lesson, so 
that the learner may be acquiring some notion of the irregu- 
larities of the language as he proceeds. 

X. 

Si, Signore Yes, Sir. 

The learner, in studying a foreign language, may expect to 
meet some little peculiarities that may appear very singular ; he 
will occasionally find combinations of words that are quite new 
to him, and at the same time very much at variance with all 
his preconceived notions of the organization of language. 
This will probably be the case with some of the Italian sen- 
tences, containing the little word si ; this word as regards its 
various attributes having no equivalent in the English lan- 
guage. 

Si, besides being equivalent to the English abverb yes, is 
a pronoun, and is rendered in the dictionaries by itself, him- 
self', or themselves. One or other of these words will gen- 
erally translate si ; but, in order to comprehend the phrase in 
which it is so translated, it will be necessary to give a more 
extended signification to the words itself, etc., than they 
usually possess. 

In English, the expressions — 

The sun discloses himself to the world below, 
and 

The sun is disclosed to the world below, 
convey precisely the same notion, the sentence is disclosed and 
discloses himself being nearly equivalent ; in the same way in 
Italian, the primitive meaning of the word si, has been extended 
to express a passive act, a process performed, or operating by 
its own agency ; but this principle is carried to a much greater 
extent in Italian than in English, and the si will be found 
employed in cases where the English construction will not 
admit of himself, or itself, being used ; for example, in the 
following phrases : 

II pane si mangia . . . thread is eaten. 

Si dice It is said. 

The reflective pronoun, itself, cannot be used in English in 



14 PRONUNCIATION. 

such expressions as these : to translate il pane si mangia, by 
bread eats itself, would be to produce an assemblage of words 
of which it would be difficult to imagine the import. 

Si, then, as a pronoun, is used in expressing a reflective act, 
as si trovo, he found himself, in which the agent and the object 
are one, and in expressing an action in which no agent appears, 
as si dice, it is said ; in the first case, the si may be rendered 
in English by himself, itself, or themselves, as the case may 
be, but in the second, a part of the verb to be must be employed 
in translating it. 

Although, as we have seen, itself, himself or themselves, 
may in general be considered the equivalents to the pronoun 
si, there are cases where, in translating si by one or other of 
these words, a meaning would be given to the sentence in 
which the si occurs totally opposite to that it was intended to 
convey ; for example, the phrase 

Si loda l'uomo virtuoso . The virtuous man is praised. 

Were we to translate the si in this sentence by one of the 
English reflective pronouns, we should have " the virtuous man 
praises himself," a translation that obviously exhibits its own 
inaccuracv. We shall revert to the use and value of the 
pronoun si in a future lesson. 



PRONUNCIATION. 
( li \u tCTERISTIt s. 

Of all the modern European languages, the pronunciation 
of Italian is most easily acquired without the aid of a teacher. 
There are no silent letters to embarrass the learner, every 
word is pronounced precisely as it is written. What contributes 
most to render the pronunciation of Italian of easy acquisition 
to the English learner is, that there are no sounds used in it 
which are not also to be found in English. We have, therefore, 
no new sounds to teach ; the learner lias only to become familiar 
with the value of the letters, and his task is accomplished. 
There are, however, two sounds rarely used in English, but 



COMPOSITION. 15 

which from their frequent recurrence in Italian may be styled 
the characteristics. These are the liquid sounds of gn and gl, 
to which we shall now direct the learner's attention. 

The first of these sounds, that of the gn, presents little diffi- 
culty ; — it has already occurred in the word Signore. We have 
written this word — 

seen-yo-rai. 

And the learner may readily form a conception of the sound 
from the manner we have exhibited it in this instance. 

The letters gl have in Italian the sound of the double I in 
the English word William, as in the case of the words — 

Famiglia, family, pronounced fam-eel'-ya. 
Figlio, son, „ feel'-yo. 

The only difficulty with this sound, lies in transferring it to 
gl when these letters begin a word, as in the case of the article 
gli, the; but a little attention on the part of the learner to the 
nature of the sound he gives the double I in the word we have 
named, will enable him to pronounce theglm all cases correctly. 
An exact conception of the sounds of the gn and gl being 
formed, there is little else in the pronunciation of Italian that 
can cause the learner any difficulty. A moderate possession 
of the sentiment of harmony, and a little attention to the 
principles of the language, will enable any one to pronounce 
Italian with a greater degree of purity than two-thirds of the 
natives themselves. 



COMPOSITION. 

The learner must now translate the following phrases in 
Italian. In order to acquire the detail of a language a little 
labour is necessary, and care bestowed in writing it will be most 
productive of advantage in this respect. The learner may 
translate the whole of the following phrases by means of the 
words in the text, of which he has already had the translation 
and pronunciation. His accuracy will depend on the degree 
of attention he has paid to the preceding exercises, and to our 
remarks on the structure of the language under the head 



16 



COMPOSITION. 



Construction. We shall give a translation of these phrases 
in the next lesson, so that the learner may compare his 
translation with ours, and see what degree of accuracy he has 
attained in writing Italian. 



The traveller. 

The treasure. 

The miser. 

The treasures. 

The eatables. 

The misers. 

The road. 

The lady. 

The intention. 

The ways. 

The ladies. 

The intentions. 

An Italian. 

A traveller. 

A gentleman. 

Three misers. 

Three ladies. 

Three English women. 

Three poor men. 

The avaricious gentleman. 

The avaricious gentlemen. 

The beautiful Italian lady. 

The poor lady. 

The beautiful road. 

The beautiful Englishwomen. 

The poor ladies'. 

The beautiful roa<ls. 
We have. 

We have a treasure. 
We have something to eat. 
We have the wherewithal to 
buy food. 

When the learner has accomplished this exercise, he will 
have read, written, and spoken a little Italian ; our method thus 
embracing within a single lesson a series of exercises that will 
enable the diligent student to attain a certain degree of perfec- 
tion in Reading, Writing, and Speaking the language. 



What have we ? 

Have we anything to eat ? 

They found. 

What did they find ? 

They found a treasure. 

Where did they find the trea- 
sure ? 

When did they find a treasure? 

Did the travellers find any- 
thing to eat ? 

Did they find wherewithal to 
buy food ? 

One of the travellers must go 
and buy food. 

The lady must go and buy 
something to eat. 

He went away. 

Who went away ? 

The lady went away. 

Why did she go away ? 

When did she go away ? 

She went away immediately. 

They said. 

What did they say ? 

The travellers said : We ore 
hungry. 

Did they say, one of us must 
go and buy something to 
eat ? 

Did they say, let one of us go 
and buy food ? 



LESSON SECOND. 



READING. 



REPETITION. 



The following reading lesson consists of a free translation of 
the English phrases and sentences given in the last lesson to 
be turned into Italian. If the learner has already translated 
these phrases, he should compare his translation with that we 
give below, observing carefully the points (if any) in which an 
error has been committed. The words having all occurred in 
the preceding lesson, their meaning, pronunciation, and accen- 
tuation, have already been given. 

II viaggiatore. II tesoro. L'avido. I tesori. I 
cibi. Gli avidi. La via. La signora. L'intenzione. 
Le vie. Le signore. Le intenzioni. Un Italiano. 
Un viaggiatore. Un signore. Tre avidi. Tre 
signore. Tre Inglesi. Tre poveri. II signore avido. 
I signori avidi. La bella Italiana. La povera signora. 
La bella via. Le belle Inglesi. Le povere signore. 
Le belle vie. Abbiamo. Abbiamo un tesoro. Abbiam 



18 READING. 

di che mangiare. Abbiam di che comperar il cibo. 
Cheabbiamo? Abbiamo di che mangiare? Trova- 
rono. Che trovarono ? Trovarono un tesoro. Dove 
trovarono il tesoro ? Quando trovarono un tesoro ? 
Trovarono i viaggiatori di che mangiare ? Trovarono 
di che comperar il cibo ? Vada un dei viaggiatori a 
comperar il cibo. Vada la signora a comperar di che 
mangiare. Parti. Chi parti? La signora parti. 
Perche parti ? Quando parti ? Parti tosto. Dissero. 
Che dissero ? I viaggiatori dissero, abbiam fame. 
Dissero, che un di noi vada per comperar di che 
mangiare ? Dissero, vada un di noi a comperar il 
cibo? 



HEADING. 



Ma disse, cammin facendo, fra se stesso, e d'uopo 
ch'io avveleni la carne onde i miei due soci muoiano 
niangiandone, e cosi avrb tutto il tesoro per me solo. 
Egli esegui il suo disegno, e pose il veleno in cib che 
aveva recato per mangiare. 



As in the case of the text given in the preceding lesson, we 
shall now proceed to give first the pronunciation of the words 
given in the above, and then their signification. The following 
is a repetition of the portion of text that is to be the subject 
of the present lesson, with the pronunciation and accentuation 
placed under each word. 

Ma disse, cammin facendo, fra se stesso 

Ma' dees'-sy, cam-meen' fa-chen-do, fra^sai^stais'-so 

e d'uopo ch'io avveleni la carne onde i miei 
e dwo'-po kee-o av-vail-ai'-nee la^car'-ny on'-dy e me'-i* 

due soci muoiano mangiandone e cosi avro 

doo'-y so'-chee mo'-ya-no man-jan'-do-ny e co-see' av-ro' 

tutto il tesoro per me solo. Egli esegui 

toot'-to eel tai-so'-ro per^,mai so'-lo. Ail-yee^ais-ai-gwee' 

il suo disegno, e pose il veleno in 

eel'^swo dees-ain'-yo, e po'-zai eel w vai-lai '-no een 

cid che aveva recato per mangiare. 

cho'^kay av-vai'-va rai-ca'-to per^man-ja'-ry. 

A little care in going over the foregoing exercise will enable 
the learner to read correctly in Italian the second section of the 
text. We cannot too much urge the necessity of a careful 
attention to the pronunciation, both as regards each syllable in 

* Pronounce this i like i in the English word wine. 



20 



TRANSLATION. 



itself and its relative value in a word, as pointed out by the 
accent. The same words will be repeated over and over again 
in the present lesson and those that are to follow, so that, as we 
have already stated, much depends upon the degree of accuracy 
attained at the outset. 



Ma 
But 

se 
himself 



la 

the 



disse, 
he said, 

stesso, 

self, 

came, 
meat, 



TRANSLATION. 

cammin facendo, fra 

road making (going along). between (into) 

e d'uopo ch'io avveleni 

it is of necessity that I (I must) poison 

due 



muoiano 
may die 

il tesoro 
the treasure 



onde 
in order that 

mangiandone, 

on eating of it, 



l 
the 



miei 

my 



il 
the 



do 
that 



SUO 

his 

che 

which 



per 

for 

disegno, 
design, 

aveva 

he had 



me 
me 



e 
and 

solo. 

alone. 



COSl 
thus 



avro 
will have 



SOC1 

associates 

tutto 
all 



e 
and 

recato 
brought 



pose 
put 



il 
the 



per 

for 



Egli esegui 
He executed 

veleno in 

poison in 

mangiare. 
to eat. 



With the aid of the above translation, the learner will be 
able to render the text itself into good English. As we sug- 
gested in the case of the text last lesson, a table of the words 
should be written out, with their English translation opposite, 
and made use of by the learner in fixing upon his memory the 
precise signification of each Italian word. It will be observed 
from our translation of the text, that the word e in Italian has 
two significations ; when without an accent it is the conjunc- 
tion and, but when e accented thus e\ it has the value of the 
English words it is or he is, as the case may be. Attention 
to a peculiarity of this kind is very essential. 



CONVERSATION. 21 



PHRASES. 



Ma disse But he said 

Fra se stesso Into himself, 

Cammin facendo .... Going along, 

Ed'uopo ch'io avvelenilacarne I must poison the meat, 

Onde In order that 

I miei due soci My two associates 

Muoiano May die 

Mangiandone On eating it. 

E cosi And so 

Avro tutto il tesoro ... I will have all the treasure 

Per me solo To myself. 

Egli esegui il suo disegno . He executed his design, 

E pose il veleno .... And put poison 

In cio che In what 

Aveva recato per mangiare . He had brought to eat. 

The use to be made of the phrases, as we stated last lesson, 
is to derive from them notions of the structure of the language, 
and to obtain from them rules for making up the words into 
sentences. It will be observed, for example, that the Italians, 
in order to express the English phrase, on eating it, do not use 
these three words, but say in the to eat it. The learner then 
is to judge from this, that, in order to render in Italian the 
English phrase, on buying it, he must say in the same way, 
in the to buy it, nel comprarlo. 

CONVERSATION. * 
In addition to the words introduced under this head in the 
last lesson, we shall make use in the following dialogue of the 
adverb 

Come, how, pronounced, co'-my. 

If the learner find himself embarrassed about the signification 
of any of the others, it will be entirely owing to his own want 
of attention in going over the preceding exercises. 

Che disse il viaggiatore che Disse, e d'uopo ch'io avveleni 

parti ? la came. 

A chi disse cio ? .... Fra se stesso. 

Quando ? Cammin facendo. 



22 



CONVERSATION. 



Chi disse, e d'uopo ch'io avve- 

leni la carne ? 
Perche e d'uopo che il viaggi- 

atore avveleni la came ? 
Disse il viaggiatore, e d'uopo 

ch'io avveleni i miei soci ? 
Disse, e d'uopo ch'io avveleni 

il cibo ? 
Disse, avro tutto il tesoro per 

me solo ? 
Aveva il tesoro ? 
Chi aveva il tesoro ? 
Aveva tre soci ? 
Aveva un socio ? 
Aveva due soci ? 
Chi aveva due soci ? 
Che aveva il viaggiatore che 

parti ? 
Esegui la sua intenzione ? 
Come? 

Aveva recato di che mangfiare? 



A chi aveva recato di che 

mangiare ? 
Cheavevarecato per mangiare? 
Aveva recato il veleno ? . . 



In che pose il veleno ? 
Quando ? . . . . 
Perche ? . . . . 



Cammin facendo, che disse il 
viaggiatore che parti ? 



Cammin facendo che esegui ? 
Cammin facendo, che pose ? . 
Cammin facendo, che aveva ? 
Aveva il tesoro ? . . . . 
Chi aveva il tesoro ? 



II viaggiatore che parti. 

Onde i suoi due soci muoiano 

mangiandola. 
Non, Signora. 

No, disse e d'uopo ch'io avve- 
leni la carne. 
Si Signora, egli disse cio. 

Non, Signora. 

I suoi soci. 
Non, Signora. 

Si Signora, aveva un socio. 
Si Signora, aveva due soci. 

II viaggiatore che parti. 
Aveva un' intenzione. 

Si Signora. 

Pose il veleno in cio che 
aveva recato per mangiare. 

Si, il viaggiatore che parti 
aveva recato di che man- 
giare. 

Ai suoi soci. 

Delia carne. 

Non, Signora, pose il veleno 

nella carne. 
Nella carne. 
Nel recarla. 
Onde i suoi due soci morissero 

mangiandola. 
Disse, e d'uopo ch'io avveleni 

la came onde i miei due 

soci muoiano mangian- 

done. 
La sua intenzione. 
II veleno nella came. 
Aveva il eibo. 
Non, Signora. 
I suoi due soci. 



23 

CONSTRUCTION. 
XL 

Avrd il tesoro .... I will have the treasure. 
Avrd il tesoro ? . . . . Will I have the treasure ? 
Non avro il tesoro ... I will not have the treasure. 

In writing Italian, it is essential that the learner bear in 
mind what we have said (Section III.) about omitting the pro- 
nouns i, we, and so forth. The word avro will express the 
phrase 1 will have with equal force and much more conciseness, 
than if it had the pronoun, io I, prefixed. The omission of 
this class of pronouns in colloquial intercourse is a distinctive 
feature in Italian ; and, as there is nothing parallel in the 
English language, it is necessary that the learner habituate 
himself as much as possible to this kind of construction. In 
translating, therefore, English phrases into Italian, we would 
suggest a total suppression of the Fs, we's, etc., that occur in 
them. Another matter to be borne in mind is, that the order 
of the words in a question is precisely the same as in an affir- 
mation, so that if trovarono un tesoro, signifies they found a 
treasure — trovarono un tesoro ? will signify did they find a 
treasure ? The fact of the phrase being a question is indicated 
by the note of interrogation being placed at the end of it. The 
learner will do well also to bear in mind, in rendering an 
English negative sentence, that there are no words in Italian 
equivalent to do and did ; as we have already stated, a negation 
is constructed by simply prefixing non to the proper tense of 
the verb ; for example, the phrase they did not find a treasure, 
would be in Italian — 

Non trovarono un tesoro. 

The word trovarono, being a past tense, involves in itself the 
signification of the English word did. 

We bring these circumstances a second time under the 
attention of the student, as we shall abundantly introduce in 
our exercise on Composition, questions and answers both affir- 
mative and negative, and shall expect the learner to translate 
them all correctly. 



24 CONSTRUCTION. 

XII. 

Noi abbiamo fame .... We are hungry. 
Che un di noi vada . . . Let one of us go. 

The little words called pronouns cause more embarrassment 
to the beginner in Italian than all the others put together. 
They are numerous, are often like other words in orthography, 
are subject to all kinds of euphonic changes, and are frequently 
so closely mixed up with other words, that persons tolerably 
familiar with the language often experience difficulty in 
detecting them. We shall give in the meantime a general 
view of these words, and revert to them more in detail as they 
present themselves in the text of our lessons. 

The first class of pronouns of which we shall speak, is that 
to which the word noi in the sentence noi abbiam fame be- 
longs ; this presents little difficulty, being employed in the same 
manner as their English equivalents. They are as follow : 

as io ho, / have. 

„ tu hai, thou hast. 

„ egli ha, he has. 

„ ella ha, she has. 

„ noi abbiamo, we have. 

„ voi avete, you have. 

„ eglino hanno, they have. 

These pronouns, as we have said, Section III., are very 
rarely used in Italian ; they are only employed where emphasis 
is to be placed on the verb, or where a greater degree of clear- 
ness is wanted. Under ordinary circumstances, we have, would 
be better expressed by abbiamo, than by noi abbiamo. 

The next class of pronouns are the most difficult of the 
whole. The pronouns lo, la, li, and le, spoken of in Section 
VIII. as resembling some of the forms of the article, belong 
to this class : these four pronouns are generally placed before 
the verb, in the following manner : 

Lo trovarono .... they found him or it. 

La trovarono .... they found her or it. 

Li trovarono .... they found them (masc.) 

Le trovarono .... they found t hem (fern.) 



Io, 


/, 


Tu, 


thou, 


Egli, 


he, 


Ella, 


she, 


Noi, 


we, 


Voi, 


you, 


Eglino 


, they, 



CONSTRUCTION. 25 

Besides these, there are two others that resemble the article in 
form : 

Gli, to him or it, as gli dissero, they said to him. 
Le, to her or it, „ le dissero, they said to her. 

The following is a table of the value and use of the other 
pronouns of this class : 

Mi, me, as mi dissero, they told me. 

Ci, us, ,, ci dissero, they told us. 

Ti, thee, ,, ti dissero, they told thee. 

Vi, you, ,, vi dissero, they told you. 

Si, < z. • 7 •> ' > si dissero, they told themselves, 
[himself, y * 

The next and last class of pronouns is that to which not, in 
the sentence, un di noi, one of us, belongs ; they present little 
difficulty, being written apart from the verb : they are disposed 
as follows : 

Me, me, as parlarono di me, they spoke of me. 

Noi, us, „ parlarono di noi, they spoke of us. 

Te, thee, „ parlarono di te, they spoke of thee. 

Voi, you, ,, parlarono di voi, they spoke of you. 

S^> *! t, • //• c parlarono di se, they spoke of themselves. 

Lui, him, „ parlarono di lui, they spoke of him. 

Lei, her, „ parlarono di lei, they spoke of her. 

Loro, them, ■ „ parlarono di loro, they spoke of them. 

These pronouns are always used as above, after a preposition. 
The learner should in the mean time read over these tables 
attentively, as we shall have occasion to revert to them very 
frequently throughout the course of our lessons. 

XIII. 

Nel recar/a . . . .In bringing it. 

In speaking of the pronouns, lo, him or it, and la, her or it, 
we have said that they are placed before the verb, and not as 
in English after it : for example, instead of saying he said it, 



26 CONSTRUCTION. 

the Italians would say he it said, lo disse. The sentence nel 
recarla, quoted above, shows that there are some exceptions 
to this rule, and that these pronouns are sometimes placed as 
in English after the verb. This happens when the verb is a 
present participle, or is in the imperative or infinitive moods ; 
and when such is the case, the pronoun is joined to the verb, 
and written with it in one word, as recar and la in the sentence 
before us. 

It will be observed that the Italians, instead of saying in 
bringing it, say, in to bring it. The reason of this construc- 
tion is, that the prepositions govern in Italian the infinitive 
mood of a verb. 



XIV. 
Mangiandone On eating it. 

Mangiandone, appears in our text as one word, but it in reality 
consists of two distinct words, the participle present mangiando, 
on eating, with the pronoun ne attached to the end of it, in 
accordance with the principle we have stated in the preceding 
section. This pronoun ne lias no equivalent in the English 
language. It performs the duties of the French en, and is used 
under precisely the same circumstances. In a sentence it 
indicates some object or objects that have previously been 
spoken of, and must, vary in its English translation according 
to the nature of the matter to which it alludes. The ne in 
our text refers to the poisoned meat, and in this case may be 
rendered in English by some of it. In most cases, some of it, 
or some of them, will render the pronoun we in English ; as for 
example in the following phrases, supposing the subject of 
conversation to be travellers — 

E d'uopo chio ne avveleni . I must poison sonn of them. 
Ne trovarono sulla via . They found some of them on 

the way. 
Or supposing the subject in question to be poison : 
Ne abbiamo ? . . . . Have we any of it ? 

Ne aveva I had some of it. 

Neavro? Will I not have some of it f 



CONSTRUCTION. 27 

But though some of it, or some of them, may be considered the 
English equivalents for ne, there are many instances where 
other expressions would have to be employed in translating 
this pronoun ; as for example in the following cases : 

Un d'essi se ne parti . . One of them went away font 

the others. 
Ne dissero They spoke about it. 

These examples will suffice to give the learner a notion of 
the value of the ne in construction. Once an idea of the 
nature of the pronoun obtained, there will be little difficulty 
in recognising its meaning in a sentence. We shall make use 
of this little word in our next colloquial exercise, in order that 
the learner may acquire some notion of its use in practice as 
well as in theory. 



XV. 

II suo disegno .... His design. 
I suoi soci His associates. 

The possessive pronouns of the Italian language, are — 
Mio my. 



Tuo . 

Suo . 
Nostro 
Vostro 
Loro 



his. 
our. 
your, 
their. 



These pronouns agree in number and gender with the person 
or thing to which they are attached : thus, in the phrase my 
treasures, the word treasures is of the plural number, and con- 
sequently the word my in Italian must also be of the plural 
number. These pronouns vary their terminations in respect 
of gender and number, as in the case of the adjectives : for 
example, my, in Italian, is — 

Mio, with a masculine noun. 

Miei, with a masculine noun in the plural. 

Mia, with a feminine noun. 

Mie, with a feminine noun in the plural. 



23 CONSTRUCTION. 

And all the others, except loro, which is invariable, change 
their terminations under the same circumstances, in the same 
manner. 

It will also be observed by the phrases we have quoted 
above, that the Italians use the article with the possessive 
pronouns; and instead of saying as in English, my treasures, 
say the my treasures, i miei tesori. 

XVI. 

Vi trovarono . . . They found you. 
Ci trovarono . . . They found us. 

In speaking of the difficult class of pronouns, we give the 
above two sentences as examples of the use of vi and ci. In 
the first, we have vi rendered in English by you, and in the 
second sentence we have ci rendered by us. These are the 
most common acceptations of vi and ei, and the meanings these 
words will most generally be found to have ; but they are not 
their only significations. Besides the simple meaning of you 
and us, attached to the vi and et, these pronouns, in the posi- 
tion we see them, that i-, before a verb, are frequently used for 
to you and to us after a verb : thus, instead of saying — 

Disse a voi . . . . He said to you. 
Disse a noi .... He said to us. 

The Italian construction prefers the expressions — 

Vi disse He said to you. 

Ci disse He said to us. 

The Learner then must bear in mind that vi and ci must 
sometimes l>e rendered in English by to you and to us, as well 
:i^ by you and us. 

I / and ci are also equivalent to the English words here 
and ////// , and have very frequently these meanings, as — 

Ci trovarono . . . They found here. 

Vi trovarono . . . They found there. 
\\ ben vi and ci occur before a word beginning with t, (lie 

i is cut off, and its place supplied with an apostrophe, as — 

( Here he i^. 

V'e The.,- he is. 



PRONUNCIATION. 29 

The meanings of vi and ci are somewhat diversified, and 
consequently require to be very closely observed, in order that 
a wrong acceptation may not be given to a sentence in which 
one of them happens to be employed. 



PRONUNCIATION. 



There are in Italian, as in English, the five vowels a, e, i, o, 
and u ; these are pronounced by natives of Florence and Rome 
in the following manner : 

a, like a in the English word part. 
,, made. 



e, 


55 


a 


h 


55 


ee 


o, 


55 





u, 


5? 






55 go. 

„ do. 

When the accent of a word falls upon the letter e, it occasionally 
has the sound of e in the English word let. In cases where an 
e occurring in our lessons should have this sound, we shall 
represent it by an e accented thus e ; and if the learner bestow 
a little attention upon the position of the e's that have this 
sound, his own observation will enable him to judge why and 
when the e should be so pronounced, even should we give him 
no rule to guide him in the matter. Beyond this occasional 
sound of e, the vowels in every case and under all circumstances 
are each pronounced precisely in the manner we have stated. 
The letter a, for example, wherever it is found is always pro- 
nounced like a in part ; nothing therefore exists to prevent the 
learner from pronouncing the a always correctly, and once 
the learner can do this, he will have made an essential and 
important step to a good pronunciation. 

The organization of Italian in all its details renders the pro- 
nunciation of the language of easy acquisition by theory. We 
fear, however, that this very facility may be a bar to its perfect 
attainment, for generally, where no difficulty exists no pains 
are taken; and in a case of this kind, in which a well-sustained 
accuracy is of the utmost moment, a want of attention may be 



30 PRONUNCIATION. 

of the greatest detriment. We know how difficult a thing it 
is to get an Englishman to imagine an a pronounced in every 
position and under every circumstance precisely alike. The 
English orthography is so barbarous, each vowel varying its 
sound so arbitrarily, that it is almost impossible for an Eng- 
lishman to form an adequate conception of the real bona fide 
value of an Italian vowel. In order to drive away the dissi- 
pated notions of letters he has obtained from his mother tongue, 
the English learner will have to be extremely watchful in pro- 
nouncing the Italian vowels; let him not enunciate one in any 
case without recalling his attention to the sound we have stated 
it to possess, — let him continue this practice throughout the 
course of these lessons, and he will ever after pronounce the 
vowels correctly. It must not be supposed, however, though 
the vowels are always to be pronounced with the sounds we 
have assigned to them, that each individual letter is to have 
the benefit of a clear and distinct enunciation ; this would have 
the effect of rendering the Italian, instead of being harmonious 
and chaste in its intonation, drawling, vapid, and monotonous: 
for instance, in pronouncing such a word as muoiano, where a 
combination of vowels exist, it would not do to say moo-o-o- 
(/■/iii. The voice should rest only on the accented vowel, and 
be made simply to aspirate the others ; if this be done in the 
case of the word before us, something like mo-yano will be the 
result. Again, in the pronunciation of such a word as indvbi- 
tatissiiiuiwSittt , (which by the way the learner may now pro- 
nounce correctly) the necessity for a rapid enunciation of all 
the vowels, except that accented, must be apparent. We 
shall treat this matter more fully when we come to speak of 
accent ; meantime, let the learner firmly bear in mind that all 
the o's in Italian are pronounced like <> in part, start, dart ; 
that all the e's, except those accented, arc pronounced like a in 
made, fade, wadt .- that all the »"s are pronounced like ee in 
Si , a. hi en, in en : that all the o's are pronounced like o in 80, 
go, ii" : and that all the //'s are pronounced like 00 in good, 
wood, /mud. He may rest assured that he will attain by this 
means a pronunciation of Italian, not interior, if not superior, 
to most persons who have undergone the usual course oi oral 
instruction. 



31 



COMPOSITION. 



The. following sentences maybe translated into Italian with 
the words that have already appeared in the present or preced- 
ing lessons : the learner, in order to render them correctly, has 
only to bear in mind what we said under the head Construc- 
tion of the arrangement of words and of their various mean- 
ings. As in the case of the exercise on Composition in last 
lesson, we shall give a translation of the following as an exer- 
cise in reading in the next lesson. 

Where did he execute it ? 
How did he execute it ? 



He had. 

What had he ? 

He had not the treasure. 

He had not the poison. 

Had he the meat ? 

No, he had it not. 

Who had the meat and the 

poison ? 
The companion of the two 

travellers had the meat. 
Had he all the meat ? 
Yes, he had it all. 
Who had the treasure ? 
One of the three travellers 

had it. 
Was he hungry ? 
Yes, he was hungry. 
When was he hungry ? 
When he had the treasure. 
Had he any thing to eat ? 
No, he had nothing to eat. 
Had the traveller who went 

away a companion ? 
He had two companions. 
He executed ? 

He did not execute a design. 
Why not ? 

Who executed a design ? 
The traveller who went away 

executed his design. 
Why did he execute it ? 
When did he execute it ? 



It is necessary. 



What 



is necessary sr 



his 



One of us must poison 

companion. 
Why must one of us poison 

his companion ? 
I must eat. 
He must eat. 
Must I 2:0 ? 



When must I 



go 



I must go immediately. " . 

Why immediately ? 

Must I not go immediately ? 

Must poison be bought ? 

Must the traveller be eaten ? 

Must I eat my companion ? 

I will have. 

Will I have all the treasure 
to myself ? 

Will I be hungry ? 

Will I have anything to eat ? 

I will not have the meat. 

Why not ? 

My two companions going 
along, said, we are hungry 
and have nothing to eat. 

One of the travellers went 
away, not with the design 
of bringing food, but of 
buying poison. 



32 



COMPOSITION, 



The two travellers going along- 
said to themselves, we are 
hungry and must eat our 
companion. 

One of the travellers who went 
away in order to buy food, 
being hungry, said to 
himself going along, I 
must poison my com- 
panions and so have all 
the meat to myself. 

All the three travellers must 
die of hunger. 

Why must all the travellers 
die? 

Because one of them put poi- 
son in the food he had 
brought to eat. 

But as only one put poison in 
the food, why should all 
three die ? 

Ho said. 

What did he say ? 

The traveller who went away 
said to himself, I will 
have all the food to myself. 

When did he sav so ? 



He said so going along. 
Did one of the travellers say 

he had brought something 

to eat ? 
Yes, he said so. 
To whom did he say so ? 
He said so to his companion. 
He put. 

Did he put poison in the meat ? 
Why did he put poison in the 

meat ? 
He is. 

Where is he ? 
Where is who ? 
Where is my companion ? 
He is on the road. 
Who is on the road ? 
The traveller who went away. 
Who is he ? 

He is not an Englishman. 
Ho is an Italian. 
Your companion is a miser. 
Is tin 1 traveller avaricious? 
Yes, he is. 
Must all the poor travellers 

die ? 
YeSj they must all die. 



LESSON THIRD. 



BEADING. 



REPETITION. 



Aveva. Che aveva ? Non aveva il tesoro. Non 
aveva il veleno. Aveva la carne ? No, non l'aveva. 
Chi aveva la carne ed il veleno ? II socio de' due 
viaggiatori aveva la carne. Aveva tutta la carne ? 
Si, l'aveva tutta. Chi aveva il tesoro ? L'aveva uno 
dei tre viaggiatori. Aveva fame? Si, aveva fame. 
Quando aveva fame? Quando aveva il tesoro? 
Aveva di che mangiare ? No, non aveva di che 
mangiare. II viaggiatore che parti aveva un socio? 
Aveva due soci. Esegui. Non esegui un disegno. 
Perche no ? Chi esegui un disegno ? II viaggiatore 
che parti esegui il suo disegno. Perche 1' esegui ? 
Quando l'esegui ? Dove l'esegui ? Come Fesegui ? 
E d'uopo. Che e d'uopo ? E d'uopo che un di noi 
avveleni il suo socio. Perche e d'uopo che egli 
avveleni il suo socio ? Mi e d'uopo mangiare. Gli 
e d'uopo mangiare. E d'uopo ch'io vada. Quando 
e d'uopo ch'io vada ? E d'uopo ch'io vada tosto. 
Perche tosto ? Non e d'uopo ch'io vada tosto ? E 



34 READING. 

d'uopo comperar veleno? E d'uopo mangiare il 
viaggiatore ? E d'uopo mangiare il mio socio ? Avrb. 
Avrb tutto il tesoro per me solo ? Avrb fame ? Avrb 
di che mangiare? Non avrb la carne. Perche no ? 
I miei due soci, cammin facendo dissero : noi abbiam 
fame, e non abbiam di che mangiare. Uno de' 
viaggiatori parti non col disegno di recar il cibo, ma 
di comperar veleno. I due viaggiatori cammin 
facendo dissero fra se stessi : noi abbiam fame, e 
d'uopo di mangiare il nostro socio. Uno de' viaggiatori 
che parti onde comperar di che mangiare, perche 
aveva fame, disse cammin facendo fra se stesso : e 
d'uopo ch'io avveleni i miei soci, e cosi avrb tutta la 
carne per me solo. E d'uopo che tutti i tre viaggia- 
tori muoiano di fame. Perche e d'uopo che tutti i 
viaggiatori muoiano ? Perche un d'essi pose veleno 
nel cibo che aveva recato per mangiare. Ma un solo 
pose il veleno nella carne, perche e d'uopo che tutti 
muoiano? Disse. Che disse? II viaggiatore che 
parti disse fra se stesso : avrb tutta la carne per me 
solo. Quando lo disse ? Lo disse cammin facendo. 
Uno de' viaggiatori disse, egli aveva recato di che 
mangiare ? Si, lo disse. A chi lo disse ? Lo disse 
al suo socio. Pose. Pose il veleno nella carne? 
Perche pose il veleno nella carne ? E. Dov' e ? 
Dov' e chi ? Dov' e il mio socio ? E sulla via. 
Chi e sulla via ? II viaggiatore che parti. Chi e ? 
Non e Inglese. E Italiano. II vostro socio e avido. 
E il viaggiatore avido ? Si e avido. E d'uopo che 
tutti i poveri viaggiatori muoiano ? Si e d'uopo che 
tutti muoiano. 



TRANSLATION. 35 



I due altri che avevano da! canto loro concertato, 
durante la sua assenza, di disfarsi di lui, 1'uccisero 
al suo ritorno, e si trovarono padroni del tesoro. 
Dopo il loro misfatto, mangiarono i cibi avvelenati, e 
morirono entrambi. 



As in the case of the text of the two preceding lessons, we 
shall first give the pronunciation and accentuation of the words, 
and then a literal translation of them. The following scheme 
of the pronunciation will enable the learner to read correctly 
in Italian the foregoing portion of text. 



I 


due 


altri 


che 


avevano, 


dal 


canto 


loro 


E 


doo'-y 


al'-tree 


kay 


a-vai'-va-no, 


dal 


can'-to 


lo'ro 



concertato, durante la sua assenza, di disfarsi 
concher-ta'-to, doo-ran'-ty la soo'-a as-send'-za, dee dees-far'-see 

di lui, 1'uccisero al suo ritorno, e si 

dee loo'-ee, loo-chees'-ero al soo'-o ree-tor'-no, e see 

trovarono padroni del tesoro, Dopo il 

tro-var'-ono pa-dro'-nee del tai-so'-ro. Do'-po eel 

loro misfatto, mangiarono i cibi avvelenati, 

lo'^ro mees-fat'-to, man-jar'-ono ee chee'-be av-ve-le-na'-tee, 

e morirono entrambi. 
e mo-reer'-ono en-tram'bee, 

TRANSLATION. 



I due 


altri che 


avevano dal 


canto 


The two 


others who 


had from the 


side 


loro 


concertato, 


durante la 


sua 


their (on their side) 


concerted, 


during the 


his 



36 



CONVERSATION. 



assenza, 
absence 



disfarsi 
to rid themselves 



lui, 
him, 



1 ' uccisero 
him assassinated 



at the 

del 

of the 



SUO 
his 

tesoro. 

treasure. 



ntonio, 
return, 



e 
and 



si trovarono 

themselves found 



mangiarono 
they ate 

entrambi. 
both 



1 
the 



Dopo 

After 



il 
the 



cibi 

eatables 



avvelenati 
poisoned 



loro 

their 

e 

and 



padroni 
masters 

misfatto 
misdeed 

morirono 
they died 



PHRASES. 



The two others 

Who had determined to rid 

themselves of him. . . 

On their side 

During his absence 

They killed him on his return 

And they became masters of 

the treasure 

After their misdeed 

They ate the poisoned food . 

And they both died . . 



I due altri. 

Che avevano concertato di 

disfarsi di lui. 
Dal canto loro. 
Durante la sua assenza. 
L' uccisero al suo ritorno. 
E si trovarono padroni del 

tesoro. 
Dopo il loro misfatto. 
Mangiarono i cibi avvelenati. 
E morirono entrambi. 



CONVERSATION. 

Iii the following exercise we shall make use of some second- 
ary tenses of the verbs in the text : for example, of the verb 
mangutre, to eat, we shall introduce mangid, he ate; of com- 
j>( /■(//■< , to buy, we shall employ oompro, he bought : and so 
in the case of some others. The similarity of these words with 
the forms in the text will enable the learner easily to recognise 
them, and the tenor of the sentence will indicate their precise 
meaning. We shall also introduce abundantly the pronouns 
Dc and si, and would suggest, previous to going over this ex- 
ercise, a careful perusal of Sections X. and XIX., wherein 
the value and construction of these little words are treated. 

Che avevano concertato gli Avevano concertato il discgno 
altri due viaggiatori ? di disfarsi del loro socio. 

Quando 1'avevano concertato? Durante la sua assenza. 



CONSTRUCTION. 37 

Si, esegui il loro disegno ?* . Si, si esegui. 
Come si esegui ? .... I due altri uccisero il loro socio. 
Quando l'uccisero ? . . . Al suo ritorno. 
Aveva il viaggiatore che parti Si, Signori, f dal canto suo 
concertato un disegno dal aveva concertato il di- 

canto suo ? segno di avvelenare i 

suoi due soci. 

L'esegui ? Si, pose veleno nella carne 

che loro| aveva recato per 
mangiare. 
In che pose veleno ? . . . Lo pose nel cibo. 
Perche pose veleno nel cibo ? Onde i due soci morissero 

mangiandolo. 
Ne mangiarono gli altri due ? Si, ne mangiarono. 
Chi uccise un de' viaggiatori ? L'uccisero i suoi soci. 
Perche l'uccisero ? . . . . Onde disfarsi di lui ed avere 

essi soli tutto il tesoro. 
Come si trovarono gli altri Si trovarono padroni del tesoro. 

due dopo il loro misfatto? 
Si trovarono padroni di altra Si, si trovarono padroni de' 

cosa (anything else ?) cibi avvelenati. 

I padroni del tesoro mangia- Si, lo mangiarono. 
rono il cibo avvelenato ? 

Ne morirono ? Si, ne morirono. 

Chiavevaavvelenato la carne ? II viaggiatore che parti. 
Perche aveva avvelenato i cibi? Onde disfarsi de' suoi soci. 

Ne mangio ? No, Signori, non ne mangio. 

Chi ne mangio ? .... I suoi soci ne mangiarono. 
Quando li aveva avvelenati ? Durante la sua assenza. 
Durante la sua assenza, che Disse, cammin facendo, e 
disse ? d'uopo ch'io avveleni la 

carne onde i miei due 
soci muoiano mangian- 
done. 
Disse altre cose ? .... Si, disse, avro tutto il tesoro 

per me solo. 

* It will be observed, that in this sentence the si is employed in its 
passive capacity, and consequently that the interrogation in question 
signifies in English, tvas their design executed ? 

t The letter i being the masculine plural termination, Signori must 
signify Sirs or Gentlemen, and is only used in Italian in cases where 
its equivalents would be used in English. 

% Bear in mind that loro before a noun signifies their, but before a 
verb, to them. 



38 



CONVERSATION. 



Disse, e d'uopo ch'io mangi i 

miei soci ? 
Pose il veleno nella came ? 
Ebbe egli cosi il tesoro a lui 

solo? 
Perche no ? 



Perche parti ? 

Aveva comprato di che man- 

giare ? 
Per chi aveva comprato i cibo? 
Ne aveva loro recato ? . . 
Gliene avevano comprato gli 

altri due ?* 
Gli avevano recato altra cosa ? 

Si dissef che i tre viaggiatori 
trovarono un tesoro. 

Si disse che avevano concer- 

tato il disegno di disfarsi 

del tesoro. 
Si disse che avevano concer- 

tato il disegno di uccidere 

il loro socio ? 



Si disse che avevano concer- 
tato di mangiarlo ? 

Si disse, che il viaggiatore che 
parti, aveva comprato del 
veleno ? 

Si disse che gli altri due man- 
giarono la carnc avvele- 
nata ? 



No, non lo disse. 

Si, lo pose. 
No, Signori. 

Perche gli altri due l'uccisero 
al suo ritorno, e s'impa- 
dronirono del tesoro. 

Per comperar di che mangiare. 

Si, ne aveva comprato. 

Per i suoi due soci. 

Si, ne aveva loro recato. 

No, non gliene avevano com- 
prato. 

No, non gli avevano recato 
altra cosa. 

Si, si disse che i viaggiatori, 
cammin facendo ne tro- 
varono uno. 

No, non si disse. 



Si, si disse che avevano con- 
certato durante la sua 
assenza il disegno di 
disfarsi di lui al suo 
ritorno. 

No, non si disse. 

No, ma si disse che aveva posto 
del veleno nella carne che 
aveva recato per man- 
giare. 

Si, si disse che la mangiarono. 



• This Bentence in English is, had they bought /mi/ for him. The first 
gli being before a verb, is in English to or for him ; and the second 
being before a noon, is equivalent to the English artiele the. The com- 
prehension of such phrases as this will depend very much upon the 
learner's attention to the value and construction of the pronouns. 

f Si disse, iras it said. Here again the pronoun Si is employed in its 
passive capacity. 



CONSTRUCTION. 39 

Ne morirono gli altri due ? . Si, ne morirono entrambi. 

Morirono tutti e tre, i viaggia- Si, tutti e tre, i viaggiatori 
tori ? morirono. 

Quando morirono? . . . . L'uno che parti dopo.il suo 

ritorno, gli altri due dopo 
averlo ucciso. 

Come morirono i tre viaggia- I due viaggiatori uccisero il 
tori ? loro socio che parti, ed 

essi dopo aver mangiata 
la carne avvelenata che 
l'altro aveva recata, mori- 
rono. 



CONSTRUCTION. 

XVII. 

Dal canto loro . * ... On their side. 

Each of the English prepositions has its equivalent in 
Italian : for of, there is di ; for to and at, there is a; for with 
there is con ; for from, there is da ; and so in the case of all 
the others. The English and Italians do not however agree 
in the use of the prepositions ; the Italians often say with, 
when the English say of and the English frequently make use 
of with in cases where its equivalent con would be totally 
inadmissible. Each language has its own peculiar notions and 
partialities in this matter ; a preposition that is held in high 
esteem in the one language, appears in the other, like angels' 
visits, " few and far between." So widely do the two lan- 
guages differ in the application and use of the prepositions, 
that though to all intents and purposes di signifies of, in order 
to render every sentence correctly in which di occurs, it will 
be necessary to make use of all the English prepositions in 
turn : nay, though di in a great majority of cases will be 
correctly translated into English by of, such a translation 
of di would in very many instances produce nothing but ab- 
solute nonsense. 

In the sentence, dal canto loro, on their side, quoted above, 
we have an example of this mixing up. and substitution of 
prepositions peculiar to the two languages : in the Italian 



40 CONSTRUCTION-. 

sentence, da, from, is employed, and in the English sentence, 
on is made use of. In the sentence, al suo ritorno, on his 
return, occurring in another portion of the text, we have a, to 
or at, made use of in Italian, and again on in English. In the 
sentence, disse fra se stesso, he said to himself, the English 
employ into, and the Italians between ; two words, one would 
think, differing too widely to be used in expressing the same 
idea ; but no ; between the two languages, the prepositions of 
both, by some process or other, have acquired a wonderful 
degree of affinity, at least in meaning. 

The dissimilarity between the use of the prepositions of the 
two languages creates a series of obstacles to the beginner, which 
he can only overcome by assiduity and attention ; there is no 
rule of grammar that will tell him to render on their side into 
Italian by from their side, yet this must be done in order to 
render the expression correctly. In reading, the learner 
should not take it for granted that di means of, but he should 
judge by the context the relation that (//' is used to express, 
and render it by some other English preposition, if of will not 
bring out the sense. Such phrases as da/ canto loro and//// 
se stesso, where a different construction from that made use of 
in English exists, should be eonsidered as single words, and 
committed to memory as such ; they will serve as a key to 
other expressions of a similar nature. 

In our literal translation of the text, we have given to or at 
a> the equivalent for a ; but the learner must bear in mind 
that though to and at maybe the literal acceptations of a, that 
a may also signify by, with, from, on, and, in short, all the 
other prepositions of the English language. 

In order to show the necessity of attending to the value of 
a preposition, and not to its literal equivalent, we shall give a 
few examples of the uses to which da, from, are applied in 
Italian : 



Parto da Roma . . . I am goings/row/ Rome. 

Questo dipende n\ te . . . That depends on you. 

E amato da tutti .... He is loved by all. 

L'uomo da mantello verde The man with the green 



mantle. 



CONSTRUCTION. 4 1 

Comincio da fanciullo . . He began at his youth. 

Casa da vendere .... A house to sell. 

Stette infermo da sei mesi . He was sick about six months. 

Non l'ho veduto da tre anni . I have not seen him for three 

years. 

Passai da casa vostra ... I passed before your house. 

Lo disse da burla .... He said it in joke. 

Were all the da's in these phrases to be translated from, 
some of them would be totally incomprehensible : what sense, 
for example, could be gleaned from such a sentence as " a 
house from to sell," the literal translation of casa da vendere. 
In translating a preposition, the learner must use his own dis- 
cretion ; the examples we have given will suffice to show the 
futility of attempting to translate da by any single word of 
the English language; and whatever may be the English 
equivalent for any of the other Italian prepositions, the learner 
must bear in mind that he is at liberty to choose amongst all 
the English ones that best calculated to exhibit clearly the 
sense conveyed by the text. 

XVIII. 

Gliene avevano comprato gli Had the other two bought any 

altri due ? for him ? 

No, signori,non gliene avevano No, gentlemen, they had not 

comprato. bought any for him. 

The chief difficulties that will present themselves to the 
learner when he begins to read Italian arise from the con- 
struction of the pronouns. These little words are disposed in 
the two languages very differently ; their arrangement in 
English is simple, natural, and clear, but in Italian this is far 
from being the case : the construction of the pronouns is 
highly artificial, involves the most complex intricacies of the 
language, and embraces its most puzzling combinations. It 
is only by a close attention to the relative position and conse- 
quent value of these words, that the learner can arrive at 
facility in comprehending an Italian author, or hope to attain 
an exact notion of the genius of the language. We have 
already alluded to the uses of the pronoun si in composition, 

G 



42 CONSTRUCTION. 

and we have had occasion to observe that si, as well as several 
other pronouns, are also other parts of speech, and consequently 
are represented in English by a set of words of a totally dif- 
ferent import. We have now to speak of another peculiarity 
that contributes much to increase the embarrassment of the 
beginner. 

The most powerful operating cause in Italian is harmony ; 
to this leading principle everything else must yield ; letters 
and even entire syllables are destroyed or created in obedience 
to the dictates of the ear, and the pronouns, in common with 
the other words of the language, are subject to variations in 
their orthography on this account. When any of the pronouns, 
mi, ti, si, ci, or vi, occur with lo, la, li, le, or ne, the i's 
of the former are changed into e ; as, 

Ve lo recai .... I brought it to you. 

Ce lo reco .... He brought it to us. 

Me lo reco .... He brought it to me. 

Te lo recai .... 1 brought it to thee. 

Thus it is correct to say, mi teed, he brought me, but an error 
to write or pronounce, mi lo reco, he brought it to me. It 
will be seen from this, that si and the other pronouns in i are 
sometimes written with e, and it is of the greatest importance 
that the learner be sufficiently familiar with these euphonic 
changes to recognise a particular word in the various forms it 
may hence assume. 

We have stated, Section XIII., that the pronouns in 
Italian are generally placed before the verb, unless the verb 
be a participle, or in the infinitive or imperative moods ; with 
either of these last forms, the pronouns modified in the manner 
we have pointed out are placed, as in English, after the verb, 
but written with it as one word, in the following manner : — 

Recatemelo Bring it to me. 

Recatemene Bring me some of it. 

Rccatemeli Bring them to me. 

The i of gli is retained to preserve the liquid sound of the 
gl ; but in order at the same time to maintain the euphony, 
when gli occurs with another pronoun, an r is inserted between 



CONSTRUCTION. 43 

them, and whether before or after a verb, both pronouns are 
written together; as, 

Glielo rec6 . . He brought it to him. 
Gliene recai . . I brought some of it to him. 

The phrases we have quoted at the head of this article are 
also examples of the construction of gli. The euphonic 
changes and various meanings of these little words constitute 
the real difficulties the learner has to overcome ; and, after all, 
they are of no great magnitude ; a little attention to the 
examples we have given will enable him to see his way clearly 
enough. 



XIX. 

Si trovarono padroni del tesoro They found themselves masters 

of the treasure. 
Avevano concertato di disfam They had determined to rid 
di lui. themselves of him. 

We promised in Sec. X. to revert to the use of the pronoun 
si. The sentences quoted above, occurring in the text, give us 
occasion to redeem our promise. In both these sentences, 
however, the si is equivalent to the English reflective pronoun 
themselves, and consequently has its simplest meaning. It is 
when employed in expressing a passive act, that it will present 
any difficulty to the learner. In the Conversation of the 
present lesson, we have occasionally employed si in its passive 
capacity ; for example, 

Si esegui il suo disegno ? . Was his design executed ? 

Si, si esegui Yes, it was executed. 

Si disse It was said. 

The other words of these sentences being known, the value 
of si will be apparent, and will enable the learner to form such 
a conception of its attributes, as to employ the pronoun cor- 
rectly in translating sentences of a similar nature from English 
into Italian. 



41 PRONUNCIATION. 



XX. 



Trov-arono . They found. Trov-6 . . He found. 

Mangi-arono They ate. Mangi-6 . He ate. 

Concert-arono They concerted. Concert-6 . He concerted. 

It will be observed, that these verbs are all of the past tense 
and third person, — that the plural terminates in arono, and the 
singular in o. This being the case with the greater part of the 
Italian verbs, the learner may form third persons of the past 
tense from some of the other verbs that occur in the text. 
For example, from comperare, to buy, may be formed compr- 
arono, they bought, and compr-o, he bought ; from avvelenata, 
poisoned, may be formed avvelen-arono, they poisoned, and 
avvelen-o, he poisoned ; and again, such third persons as occur 
in the text, by reversing the process, may be changed into 
infinitives ; for example, from trov-arono, they found, may be 
formed trov-are, to find ; and from concert-arono, they con- 
certed, may be formed concert-are, to concert. In the exer- 
cises on writing Italian, under the head Composition, the 
English of some forms of the verbs in the text will be intro- 
duced, which the learner may construct himself on the prin- 
ciple we have pointed out. 

PRONUNCIATION. 

« ONSONANTs. 

With (lie exception of the letters c and z, the consonants 
are pronounced in Italian precisely as they are in English. 
The letter c in English, before a, o, and a, is pronounced like 
//, as in the words cat, cot, cut, and so it is in Italian. Before 
the other two vowels e and i, the consonant c has the sound 
ot s in English ; but in Italian, c before e and /, is pronounced 
like c/i in the English word cheese : for example, the word 

Cibo is pronounced chec'-ho. 

Faccndo ,, fa-chen'-do. 

Conccrtato ,, ton-ditr-ta'-to. 

The letter c then is pronounced exactly as in English, except 
when it OCCUTS before an < or ;m »" and then it has a sound 



PRONUNCIATION. 45 

that is never given to it by the English. The consonant z is 
pronounced like ds, the d being very slightly enunciated : for 
example, the word 

Intenzione is pronounced een-tend-zee-6-ny . 

Assenza ,, as-send'-za. 

And so in all other cases the letter z is pronounced as in 
English with a slight tinge of the d sound prefixed. 

In order to pronounce the Italian consonants in all cases 
accurately, the learner has only to bear in mind the peculiar- 
ity we have stated, attached to the sound of the z ; and to give 
c before e and i the sound of ch in the English word named. 

The letter _/ is very rarely used by modern Italian authors : 
in cases where it occurs, it is considered to be equivalent to 
double i, and is pronounced accordingly. The letter h may 
also be deemed to have no existence in Italian ; this letter 
has no actual sound in the language, it is never pronounced 
under any circumstances. There are, however, some uses 
to which it is applied that require to be noticed here. The 
word has is written ha, to distinguish it from the prepo- 
sition a, to ; but, notwithstanding this distinction, ha and a 
are pronounced in exactly the same manner. We have said 
that c before e and i is pronounced like ch in cheese ; when an 
h is inserted between the c and the e or i, then the c acquires 
its hard sound, and is pronounced like k, as in the word che, 
that, pronounced hay, and chi, who, pronounced kee. The 
consonant h is also used in Italian, to give the hard sound to 
g before e and i. In English, g is pronounced hard before a, 
o, and u, as in the words got, gap, gun ; and soft before e and i, 
as in the words gin, gem. In Italian, the g under similar 
circumstances is pronounced exactly in the same manner. This 
rule is, however, often set at defiance by the English, for in 
such words as get and give, g has the same sound before e and 
i, that it has before o, a, and u. There are no vagaries of this 
kind in Italian, g is always hard before a, o, and u, and always 
soft before e and i, in the language of Dante. When it is 
necessary that g should be hard before e or i, the h is made use 
of, and then the g being followed by a consonant, has of course 



46 PRONUNCIATION. 

its hard sound. In such words as laghi, lakes, the plural of 
lago, a lake, pronounced lag -ee ; leghee, alliances, plural of 
lega, an alliance, pronounced leg-ai, h is employed as we have 
said, simply to give the hard sound to the g before e and i, 
which otherwise it would not have. The combinations ch and 
gh, then, may be considered to form two actual consonants of 
the Italian alphabet ; the one equivalent to the letter k, and 
the other to g, of the English word get. 

All the consonants used in Italian are used in English, but 
all the consonants made use of in writing English are not found 
in Italian ; the letters k, w, x, and y, being somewhat uncouth 
in form, and decidedly gothic in sound, have been expunged 
from the Italian alphabet ; none of these letters are employed 
by modern Italian writers under any circumstances. Nothing 
more need be said of the single consonants : we shall now 
speak of some peculiarities to be attended to in pronouncing 
two of them when together. 

DOUBLE CONSONANTS. 

The orthography of the English language having little or 
nothing to do with its pronunciation, it may be readily supposed 
that double consonants are occasionally pronounced like single 
ones, and vice versa,* — for example, in the words very and 
sorry, we have a single r in the one, and a double r in the 
other, both of which are nevertheless pronounced as nearly as 
possible alike. This is not the case in Italian : when two 
consonants occur in an Italian word, both are distinctly enun- 
ciated, and a sufficient pause must be made between them to 
show that they are so, — for example, we have said viagyi- 
atore is pronounced as if written vec-aj-jee-a-tu-ry, but in order 
that this word may be accurately pronounced, a distinct and 
unequivocal pause must be made between the syllables aj and 
jee, and as in the case of gg in the word before us, a pause 
must be made in the same way between the letters of every 

* A gentleman well (nullified to judge in matters of English ortho- 
epy lias favoured lis with the Sight of a work on the eve of publication. 
in which he urges the necessity of denuding the English language of 
about five hundred Buperfluoui Pa, 



COMPOSITION. 47 

double consonant in the language ; this is one of the essential 
characteristics of the Italian pronunciation, and must not be 
neglected by the student desirous of speaking the language 
with purity. The combinations cc before e and i, and zz, 
however, will have to be considered rather as characters repre- 
senting single sounds than as double letters. We have said 
that single z is pronounced like ds ; when double, it has not the 
sound of two ds's but of ts, as in the word rizzare, to rise, pro- 
nounced reet-sd-ry* In the same way, double c before e and 
i, is pronounced like single c before these vowels ; that is, like 
ch in the English word cheese, with this difference, that double 
c is enunciated with greater force ; cc before e and i should be 
pronounced like tchin the English words witch, ditch. Double 
c before a, o, and k, is equivalent to two k% as in the word 
ecco, behold, pronounced ek-ko. These remarks, conjoined with 
what we have said of the vowels, will enable the learner to 
pronounce Italian correctly, so far at least as the letters are 
concerned. In our next lesson we shall speak of the pronun- 
ciation of the words as affected by accent. 

COMPOSITION'. 

He ate. They killed. 

What did he eat ? Who did they kill ? 

He ate the meat. They killed one of their com- 

They ate. panions. 

What did they eat ? How did they kill him ? 

They ate one of their com- He bought. 

panions. What did he buy ? 

Did they eat anything else ? He bought the meat. 

Yes, they ate the poisoned When did he buy it ? 

meat ? Where did he buy it ? 

It was eaten. Why did he buy it ? 

What was eaten ? They bought. 

The meat was eaten. What did they buy ? 

When was it eaten ? The v bought something to eat. 

He killed. He had. 

Who did he kill ? What had he ? 

Why did he kill him ? He had poison. 

* In a few words zz has the sound of ds, as in the case of mezzo, 
midst, and occasionally single z has the sound of ts, as in the word 
zucchero, sugar ; but such exceptions to the rule we have given are 
not numerous. 



48 



COMPOSITION. 



They had. 

What had they ? 

They were hungry. 

Had they anything to eat ? 

No, they had not. 

Had they anything else ? 

Yes, they had a treasure. 

The poison is bought. 

The treasure is found. 

The food is eaten. 

The design is concerted. 

The meat is poisoned. 

The traveller is killed. 

Travellers, where is your com- 
panion ? 

We have eaten him. 

How ! eaten him. 

Yes, we have eaten him. 

One of the travellers poisoned 
the meat, the two others 
ate it, and so all three 
died. 

The traveller who went away 
killed with poison his two 
companions. 

The two others on their side 
executed a concerted mis- 
deed. 

One of the travellers executed 
his design, bought some- 
thing to eat, found poison, 
put it in the meat, and 
killed histwocompanions. 

The two others found a trea- 
sure, bought the food, 
concerted a misdeed, exe- 
cuted their design, killed 
theircomrade,ate the poi- 
soned meat, and died. 

The poison killed the masters 
of the treasure, and they 
killed the master of the 
poison. 

Two of the travellers killed 
and ate their companion. 



The two others killed f.heir 
companion : he being 
assassinated they became 
masters of the treasure ; 
but after their misdeed 
they died poisoned. 

How ! ate their companion ? 

Yes, they ate him, and after- 
wards died of hunger. 

Had they nothing else to eat ? 

No, gentlemen : they were 
hungry, and had nothing 
besides their companion 
to eat. 

Had they not wherewithal to 
buy food ? 

Yes, they had a treasure, but 
one of them went off with 
it, and so they had not 
wherewithal to buy food. 

Poor travellers ! but it was 
said that one of them 
went away to buy food. 

Yes, but he put poison in the 
meat, and so his com- 
panions killed and ate 
him on his return. 

But it was said, that he had 
during his absence con- 
certed the design of 
ridding himself of them. 

Yes, he said to himself going 
along, I must buy poison 
in order to poison my com- 
panions, and so become 
master of the treasure. 

My poor companion is poi- 
soned. 

Who poisoned him ? 

His two companions, during 
his absence, concerted the 
design of ridding them- 
selves of him, and poi- 
soned him on his return. 

Why did they poison him? 



LESSON FOURTH. 



READING. 



REPETITION. 



Mangio. Che mangid ? Mangio la carne. Man- 
giarono. Che mangiarono ? Mangiarono un de' 
loro soci. Mangiarono altra cosa ? Si, mangiarono 
la carne avvelenata. Si mangio. Che si mangio ? 
Si mangio la carne, Quando si mangio ? Uccise. 
Chi uccise? Perche l'uccise? L'uccissero. Chi 
uccisero ? Uccisero un de' loro soci. Come l'uccisero ? 
Compro. Che compro ? Comprd la carne. Quando 
la compro ? Dove la compro. Perche la compro ? 
Comprarono. Che comprarono ? Comprarono di che 
mangiare. Aveva. Che aveva? Aveva il veleno. 
Avevano. Che avevano ? Avevano fame. Avevano 
di che mangiare ? No, non ne avevano. Avevano 
altra cosa? Si, avevano un tesoro. II veleno e 
comprato. II tesoro e trovato. II cibo e mangiato. 
II disegno e concertata. La carne e avvelenata. II 
viaggiatore e ucciso. Signori viaggiatori dov' e il 
vostro socio ? Noi lo abbiamo mangiato. Come ! lo 
avete mangiato ? Si, lo abbiamo mangiato. Un de' 
viaggiatori avveleno la carne, i due altri la mangi- 



50 READING. 

arono, e cosi tutti e tre morirono. 11 viaggiatore che 
parti uccise col veleno i suoi due soci. I due altri 
dal canto loro eseguirono un misfatto concertato. 
Un de' viaggiatori esegui il suo disegno, comprd di 
che mangiare, trovo del veleno, lo pone nella carne, 
ed uccise i suoi soci. I due altri trovarono un tesoro, 
comprarono il cibo, concertarono un misfatto, esegui- 
rono il loro disegno, uccisero il loro socio, mangiarono 
la carne avvelenata e morirono. II veleno uccise i 
due padroni del tesoro, ed essi uccisero il padrone del 
veleno. Gli altri due uccisero il loro socio, ucciso 
lui, si trovarono padroni del tesoro, ma dopo il loro 
misfatto morirono avvelenati. Due de' viaggiatori 
uccisero il loro socio e lo mangiarono. Come! lo 
mangiarono ? Si, lo mangiarono e dopo morirono di 
fame. Non avevano altra cosa per mangiare ? Non 
signore, avevano fame ma non avevano altra cosa che 
il loro socio da mangiare. Non avevano di che com- 
perar il ciho ? Si, avevano un tesoro, ma uno d'essi 
parti con quello e cosi non avevano di che comperar il 
cibo. Poveri viaggiatori ! ma si disse che uno d'essi 
era partito per comperare di che mangiare ? Si, ma 
avendo posto del veleno nella carne, i suoi soci 
Fuccisero al suo ritorno, e lo mangiarono. Ma si 
disse che durante la sua assenza aveva concertato il 
disegno di disfarsi di loro. Si, disse fra se stesso 
cammin facendo, e d'uopo chi'o vada per comperar 
del veleno onde avvelenare i miei soci e cosi impa- 
dronirmi del tesoro. II mio povero socio e avvelenato. 
Chi l'avveleno ? I suoi soci durante la sua assenza 
concertarono il disegno di disfarsi di lui, ed al suo 
ritorno Favvelenarono. Perche 1'avvelenarono ? 



TRANSLATION. 



51 



CONTINUATION OF TEXT. 



Un filosofo che s'avvenne a passare per quel sito 
disse : Ecco come furono trattati questi tre uomini ! 
Guai a coloro che hanno ambizione di ricchezze. 



As in the case of the preceding portions of text, we shall 
first give the pronunciation of the above, and then its transla- 
tion. The following is a table of the pronunciation and ac- 
centuation. 



Un 

Oon 



filosofo 

fee-lo'-sofo 



per 
per 

trattati 



quel 

kwel 



questi 



che 

kay 

sito, disse : 
ee'-to, dees'-sy : 

tre uomini ! 



s avvenne a 

sa-ven'-ny a 

Ecco come 
ek'-ko co'-my 

Guai a 



tra-ta'-tee kwes'-tee tre oo-o'-miny ! Goo-a'.ee a 

che hanno ambizione di ricchezze. 
kay an'-no am-beed-zee-o'-ny dee reek-ket-zy. 



pas-sa -ry 

furono 

foo'-rono 

coloro 
co-lo'-ro 



TRANSLATION. 



Un filosofo 


che s ' avvenne a 


A philosopher 


who himself happened to 


passare per 
to pass (was passing) by 


quel sito, disse : Ecco 
that place, said: Behold 


come furono trattati 


questi tre uomini ! 


how have been treated 


these three men ! 


Guai a coloro che 


hanno ambizione di 


Woe to those that 


have desire of 


ricchezze. 




riches. 





52 



CONVERSATION. 



In the present colloquy we shall introduce the following 
new words, with which the learner will have to make himself 
acquainted : 

Fu, he, or it was, pronounced foo. 
Morto, dead, „ morto. 

N *> &2U - nay - 

Bene, well, ,, bainy. 

Buono, good, ,, bwono. 

Male, ill, „ ma!$. 

We have also introduced abundantly the pronouns vi and ci, 
spoken of under the head Construction, Sections XII. and 
XVI. We have made use of these words in all their accepta- 
tions, so that the learner may be exercised in detecting the 
precise meaning any one of them may have in a sentence. Vi 
may signify you, or there, or to you ; and the learner, by con- 
sidering the words with which it is accompanied, must find out 
for himself which of these three meanings it may have in any 
particular case. The learner, in going over the following 
exercise, would also do well to observe the value of the 
pronoun ne in the sentences in which we have made use of it. 
Ne has no equivalent in the English language ; it corresponds 
with the French en, and is of constant occurrence in Italian 
colloquial phrases. 

Dove s'avvenne a passare un S'avvenne a passare per il 
filosofo ? sito dove i viaggiatori 

morirono. 
Che vi disse ? Vi disse, ecco come furono 

trattati questi tre uomini. 
Vi disse altra cosa ? ... Si, disse : guai a coloro chc 

hanno ambizione di ric- 

chezze. 
A chi disse questo ? . . . Lo disse fra se stesso. 
Quando lo disse ? ... Quando s'avvenne a passare 

per il sito dove si trova- 

rono i viaggiatori. 
Dove morirono i viaggiatori ? Sul cammino. 



CONVERSATION. 



53 



i? 



Uno fu ucciso, gli altri due 
furono avvelenati. 

Quello che parti, dopo il suo 
ritorno, gli altri due dopo 
averlo ucciso. 

Un filosofo. 

Disse, guai a coloro che hanno 

ambizione di ricchezze. 
Dove morirono. 

Ne trovo tre. 

Quando s'avvenne a passare 

per quel sito. 
Furono trattati male. 

L'uno fu ucciso, gli altri due 
furono avvelenati. 

Furono sulla via. 

Si, vi trovarono un tesoro ? 

Si, vi concertarono un misfatto. 

Si, vi dissero : abbiam fame. 

Si, vi dissero: che un di noi 
vada a comperar di che 
mangiare. 

Si, vieseguironoillorodisegno. 

No, Signore.f 

Si, vi avevano un tesoro. 

Si, s'impadronirono del tesoro. 

Si, mangiarono i cibi avvele- 
nati. 
Fu sul cammino. 

Disse e d'uopo ch'io avveleni 

il cibo, 
Vi esegui il suo disegno. 

* This ne may be translated ofit; but the sense of the interrogation 
will be rendered much clearer by translating the we, on the subject. 
The question, Che ne disse, implies, What did the philosopher say 
thereupon ? 

f The singular masculine and the feminine plural of this word being 
written in the same manner, Signore may signify either Sir or ladies. 
We intend the word in the present exercise to have the latter signifi- 
cation. 



Come morirono i viaggiatori 

Quando morirono i viaggia- 
tori ? 

Chi trovo i viaggiatori quando 

furono morti ? 
Che ne* disse ? 

Dove trovo il filosofo i viag- 
giatori ? 
Quanti viaggiatori vi trovo ? 
Quando li trovo ? 

Furono i viaggiatori trattati 

bene o male ? 
Come male ? 

Dove furono i viaggiatori ? . 
Vi trovarono qualche cosa ? . 
Vi concertarono qualche cosa? 
Vi dissero qualche cosa ? 
Vi dissero altra cosa ? . . . 



Vi eseguirono qualche cosa ? 
Vi comprarono qualche cosa ? 
Vi avevano qualche cosa ? . 
Vi s'impadronirono di qualche 

cosa ? 
Vi mangiarono qualche cosa ? 

Dove fu il viaggiatore che 

parti ? 
Che vi disse ? 



Che vi esegui ? 



54 



CONVERSATION. 



Che vi reed ? 

Che vi avveleno ? . . . . 
Ci furono* due viaggiatori 

avvelenati ? 
Ci furono tre uomini morti 

sulla via ? 
Ci furono dei viaggiatori 

uccisi sul cammino ? 
E questo possibile ? . . . 
Ci fu della came recata ai 

viaggiatori ? 
Ci fu veleno nella came ? 
Ci fu un tesoro sul cammino ? 
Chi reco la came ? . . . . 
Chi vif pose veleno ? . . . 
Chi la mangio ? .... 
Chi esegui un disegno ? . 



Chi compro il cibo ? 

Chi uccise quel viaggiatore ? 

Chi aveva trattato male i 
viaggiatori ? 

C'lii disse, guai a coloro che 
hanno ambizione di ric- 
chezze ? 

Quan ti viaggiatori vi furono ? 

Quanti ve ne furono avvele- 
nati ? 

Quanti ve ne furono uccisi? . 

Quanti uomini furono trattati 
male ? 

Quanti furono trattati bene ? 

Come aveva il viaggiatore che 
parti avvelenatolacame? 

Come furono trattati i viaggia- 
tori ? 

Aveva il viaggiatore che parti 
un disegno ? 

Fu buono ? 



Vi reco il cibo. 

Vi avveleno la carne. 

Si, ce ne furono due. 

Si, ce ne furono tre. 

Si, ce ne furono. 

Si, e possibile. 
Si, ce ne fu. 

Si, ce ne fu. 

Si, ci fu. 

II viaggiatore che parti. 

Un dei tre viaggiatori. 

I suoi soci. 

II viaggiatore che parti ne 

esegui uno, e gli altri 

due ne cseguirono un 

altro. 
11 viaggiatore che fu ucciso. 
Gli altri due. 
Furono trattati male da loro 

stessi. 
Lo disse il filosofo. 



Ce ne furono tre. 
Ce ne furono due. 

Ce ne fu un solo. 
Ce ne furono tre. 

Non ce ne fu alcuno. 
Vi pose veleno. 

Furono trattati male. 

Si, ne aveva. 

Non, Signore, non fu buono. 



* Bear in mind, that as ci signifies there, Ci furono ? is equivalent to 
Were there? 

t The signification (fans, possessed by vi, is somewhat extended in 
this sentence. In this and similar casesjttt'li equivalent in therein, or in it. 



CONSTRUCTION. 00 

Avevano gli altri due un Si, ne avevano. 

disegno ? 
Chi fu al sito dove morirono i Ci fu il filosofo. 
viaggiatori ? 

Facendo che ? Camminando. 

Che vi disse ? Disse, ecco come furono trat- 

tati questi tre uomini, 
guai a coloro che hanno 
ambizione di ricchezze. 
Vi furono tutti tre i viaggia- Si, vi furono tutti. 

tori? 
Furono uccisi ? Si, lo furono. 



CONSTRUCTION 1 . 



XXI. 

Guai a coloro che hanno am- Woe to those who desire 

bizione di ricchezze. riches. 

Ecco come furono trattati Behold how these three men 

questi tre uomini ! have been treated ! 

The little pronoun cid corresponds with the English words 
this and that, when no particular object is pointed out, as in 
the phrase cioe\ that is ; but when this and that involve an idea 
of proximity, as they generally do, cid is not sufficiently 
explicit to translate them. The English demonstrative pro- 
noun this is used to indicate an object near the speaker, 
and in such a case is rendered in Italian by questo before a 
masculine noun, and by questa before a feminine word ; as, 

Di che e questo tesoro ? . Whose treasure is this ? 
Chi e questa signora ? . What is this lady ? 

The English demonstrative this becomes these when used to 
determine several objects ; and in the same way questo be- 
comes questi and queste ; as, 

Di chi sono questi tesori ? . Whose treasures are these ? 
Chi sono queste signore ? . Who are these ladies ? 

The English demonstrative that is used to designate an object 



50 CONSTRUCTION. 

at a little distance from the speaker, and is rendered in Italian 
by quello before a masculine, and by quella before a feminine 
noun ; as, 

Di chi e quel tesoro ? . Whose treasure is that ? 
Chi e quella signora ? . Who is that lady ? 

The plural of that is those, and those is rendered in Italian by 
quelli or quei, and quelle ; as, 

Di chi sono quel tesori ? . Whose treasures are those ? 
Chi sono quelle signore ? . Who are those ladies ? 

Besides the words we have named, there is another pronoun 
employed in Italian, in cases where this and that are made use 
of in English. This pronoun is cotesto, which, like the others, 
changes its termination to agree in number and gender with 
the noun it is employed to determine. It is difficult to state 
the precise circumstances under which this last pronoun should 
be made use of. Italian grammarians do not appear to have 
made up their minds on the subject, as no two of them coincide 
in their opinions of the matter. The best writers appear to 
employ cotesto instead of questo and quello, when such substi- 
tution of the pronouns tends to increase the harmony of a 
period. Cotesto, however, is invariably used in expressing an 
object at a little distance from another object ; as, 

Datemi cotesta came . . Give me that meat beside you. 

There is still another set of pronouns made use of in Italian, 
as demonstratives ; these are — 

Costui, this, masculine. 
Colui, that, „ 

Costei, this, feminine. 
Colei, that, „ 
Costoro, these, „ 
Coloro, those, „ 

These last named pronouns are never used with nouns; they 
are only employed in speaking of persons, never of things. In 
familiar language they express contempt, and in an elevated 
style quite the reverse : as, 



CONSTRUCTION. 57 

Dite a colui che se ne vada . Tell that fellow to be off. 

Coloro che desiderassero ap- Those persons who may wish 

plicarsi alio studio della to study Italian. 

lingua Italiana. 

The number of Italian demonstratives renders it somewhat 
difficult to translate this and that correctly. In the great 
majority of cases, this will be correctly translated by questo, 
and that by quello, providing the terminations of these words 
are made to correspond in gender and number with the nouns 
they determine. The learner who knows something of Latin, 
and is familiar with the construction of Me and iste, will readily 
comprehend the value of the Italian demonstratives. 



XXII. 

Mangiarono la carne . . They ate the meat. 

Mangio la carne . . . He ate the meat. 

E d'uopo mangiarla ... It must be eaten. 

Mangiandone On eating it. 

The different forms of the verb mangiare, to eat, in the 
above sentences, have already been cited as models for the 
formation of corresponding tenses of other verbs. There is a 
form of the verb, however, that the text does not furnish us 
with an example ; we mean the form in which a command is 
given. This form is called the imperative mode, and is usually 
constructed by adding ate to the root of a verb, in the follow- 
ing manner : 

And-ate a Roma . . Go to Rome. 

F&rl-ate Italiano . . Speak Italian. 

D-ate-mi da pranzo . Give me some dinner. 

F-ate-mi il piacere . Do me the favour. 

In the same. way from the verb mangi- aue, to eat, in the text, 
may be formed mangi-ATE, eat ; from rec-ATO, brought, may 
be formed rec-ATE, bring ; and so on with the greater part of 
the others. We shall introduce, under the head Composi- 
tion, some English sentences involving a command, which, 
by keeping this construction in mind, the learner will be able 
to render correctly in Italian. 



58 CONSTRUCTION. 



XXIII. 

Ecco come furono trattati Behold how these three men 
questi tre uomini ! have been treated ! 

The word ecco, in the above sentence, is very useful in 
Italian. It is a lineal descendant from the Latin cccc, which 
itself is derived from the imperative of an old Greek verb, 
signifying to see ; so the idea of seeing is an essential in the 
word ecco. In cases where look here or see there, would be 
used in English, ecco is used in Italian ; for example, such an 
expression as " Sec ! the traveller," would be rendered in 
Italian by, Ecco! il viaggiatore. What wc have chiefly to 
observe at present with regard to ecco is, the pronouns that we 
have said (Section XVIII.) are attached to the end of certain 
forms of the verbs, arc also written with ecco in precisely the 
same manner ; as, 

Eccomi Here I am. 

Ecconcli Here is some of it for them. 

Eccogliene Here are some them for him. 

Eccola Here she is. 

In reading, the learner must boar in mind that cccogliene is 
an assemblage of words : and in writing, the learner must take 
care to unite such words together as in the examples before us. 



tUGMSNTATIVBS AM) DIMINUTIVES. 

Italian nouns and adjectives arc susceptible to an enormous 
extent of expressing different shades and degrees of an object by 
the addition of certain syllables. For example, the word stanza 
signifies a room or chamber; .s7fl»:-ONE, a very large room ; 
fftanz-ACClA, a very large ugly room ; stanz-vcciA, an elegant 
room; stauz-ixo, a neat little chamber; stcmz-vcciACCiA, 
a little ugly disagreeable apartment. These and other syllables 
are made use of to modify in the same way the greater portion 
of the words of the language. It would be difficult to give 
any rules for the learner in a matter of this kind ; the shades of 
meaning given to the words by the addition of these syllables, 
are often so very nice that it is even difficult to translate the 



CONSTRUCTION. 59 

word into English. We shall give a few words, with the 
various modifications of which they are susceptible ; these will 
serve the learner, if studied attentively, to modify other words, 
and to judge in reading, whether a particular word is so modi- 
fied or not. 

Bestia, a beast ; bestione, a great beast ; bestiaccia, a great 
ugly beast ; bestiuolo, a little beast ; bestiuolino, a very 
small insignificant beast. 

Cappello, a hat ; cappellone, a large hat ; capellaccio, a 
great ugly hat ; cappellino, a neat little hat ; cappell- 
uccio, a shocking bad hat. 

Canzone, a song; canzonaccia, a barbarous song; canz- 
onetta, a little song ; canzoncina, a sweet little song. 

Donna, a lady ; donnone, a huge woman ; donnaccia, a huge 
fright ; donnetta, a little lady ; donnuccia, a very little 
woman ; donnicchiola, a disagreeable young gossip. 

Giovine, a young man; giovinastro, a libertine; giovinotto, 
a fine young man ; giovine t to, a nice young man. 

Giallo, yellow ; gialletto, very yellow ; giallino, rather yel- 
low : gialluccio, yellowish; giallastro, particularly yel- 
low ; giallognola, intolerably yellow. 

Ladro, a vagabond ; ladrone, a very great rogue ; ladraccio, 
a villain; ladronnaccio, a wretch; ladroncello, a rascal. 

Poco, little ; pochetto, very little; pochino, particularly little ; 
pocolino, infinitely little : pochettino, ever so little. 

The foregoing is a fair example of a peculiarity that con- 
stitutes one of the essential features of Italian, at the same time 
thatit adds much to the strength and expression of the language. 



ADVERBIAL LOCUTIONS. 

In all languages, there are certain assemblages of words that 
are often very expressive collectively, ^but signify nothing when 
considered individually. The English phrase by and by is an 
example of the kind of expressions to which we allude. This 
singular combination of words signifies in English an indefinite 



60 



CONSTRUCTION. 



period of time ; but what the words taken separately have to 
do with this idea, is certainly by no means clear. Translated 
literally into Italian, by and by would signify nothing what- 
ever ; and had an Italian no other key to the phrase than a 
mere translation of the words, he certainly never would be able 
to comprehend it. The same is the case with some familiar 
locutions in Italian, a literal translation of the words would not 
show the meaning ; as the dictionary will not therefore in all 
cases aid the learner in discovering the signification of these 
expressions, we shall give the most useful of them, together 
with their literal translation, and their equivalents in English. 



Literal Translation. 



Meaning. 



Di poi . . . 


. of then . . . . 


since. 


Di certo . . . 


. of certain . . 


certainly. 


Di notte . . . 


. of night . . . 


by night. 


Di buon'ora . . 


. of good hour . . 


early. 


Di subito . . 


. of soon . 


suddenly. 


Di soppiatto 


. of hidden . . . 


secretly. 


Di fresco 


. of fresh . . . . 


freshly. 


Di rado . . . 


. of rare . , . . 


rarely. 


Del resto . . 


. of the rest . . . 


otherwise. 


Di quando inquando of when in when . 


. now and then 


Di capo . . 


. from head . . . 


anew. 


Da parte . . 


. from part . . . 


apart. 


Da quando in qua 


? from when in there 


since when ? 


D'allora in qua . 


. from then in there 


since then. 


A minuto . . 


. (if minute . . . 


in detail. 


A tenore . . 


. at substance . . 


agreeably. 


A norma . . 


. at rule .... 


accordingly. 


A quattr'occhi . 


. at four eyes . . 


face to face. 


A un di presso . 


. at one of near . . 


, nearly. 


All ingrosso 


. at the great 


wholesale. 


Alia lunga . . 


. at the length. . . 


along. 


Alia sfuggita . 


. at the flight . . 


in passing. 


Alia rinfusa 


. a! the mixed . , 


. tumbled. 


A bello studio . 


. at Jim study 


. expressly. 


Per l'appunto . 


. for the appointment exactly. 


Non ha guari . 


. not has much . 


. recently. 


Spesse volte 


. <h)s< times . 


. often. 


Tempo fa 


. tim< it makes • 


. formerly. 


fa • 


. a /it//, it makes. 


. lately. ' 



PRONUNCIATION. 61 

Literal Translation. Meaning. 

Allora allora . . then then . . . immediately. 

In avvenire . . in to happen . . in future. 

In altro . . '.. . in other .... besides. 

Quind'innanzi . . whence on . . . henceforth. 

D'ora innanzi . . from then on . . thenceforth. 

PRONUNCIATION. 



The word "accent" having a somewhat extended signifi- 
cation in English, it is necessary to state what we mean the 
pupil to understand by the term : in order to do this satisfac- 
torily, we shall have to set out by stating what we do not 
mean by the word. 

A native of Ireland being disposed intuitively to pronounce 
double e like ai, he pronounces the word green as if it were 
written grain* and when green is enunciated in this manner, it 
is said to be pronounced with an Irish accent.f Now this is 
not what we mean by accent ; we do not consider the term 
applicable in such a case. The Irish pronounce ee in one way, 
the English in another ; this is a variation of dialect, and has 
nothing whatever to do with accent. 

In what accent consists is a very different matter. Most 
writers who have undertaken to define the term, have signally 
failed in their attempts. Walker, a very good authority in 
matters of prosody, has written a very learned disquisition on 
the subject^ with no better success than his brethren. The 
English learner has no need however of a philosophical defini- 
tion of the term, in order to comprehend the principle it 
involves: his own language furnishes him with abundant 
examples of its practical operation, and it is more with practice 
than theory that we have to do at present. 

In English, accent has the faculty of changing the meaning 
of words without any alteration in their orthography ; the word 

* " Life in Dublin," by Pierce Egan. 

t If such a combination of letters as green were to occur in Italian, 
they would be pronounced grain ; since, as we have said, e is pro- 
nounced like a in made. 

% "Key to the Pronunciation of Classic and Scripture Proper Names." 



62 PRONUNCIATION. 

record, when accented on the last syllable, implies a command ; 
when accented on the first, it becomes a substantive, and 
signifies a chronicle of " times gone by." In the same way, 
the word present, when accented on the last syllable, involves 
a command ; when on the first, it is synonymous with the word 
gift. Again, the word gallant accented on the last syllable, 
signifies a fop, when accented on the first, it means brave ; and 
the word August is the name of a month, or an attribute of 
royalty, according as it varies in its accentuation. 

If the learner observes carefully the operation of accent in 
changing the meaning and pronunciation of these words, he 
will observe that the sound of the letters remains the same ; 
the a's of the word gallant, for example, are pronounced pre- 
cisely alike, whether the accent falls upon the first or the se- 
cond. Accent, then, docs not involve a change in the sound 
of the letters, but will be seen to consist simply in resting the 
voice very perceptibly on one syllable, and almost impercepti- 
bly on the other. This operation of accent is more obvious in 
the pronunciation of words of several syllables ; for example, 
in such words as centrifugal, preponderance, the voice in 
enunciating these words, rests distinctly on the vowel whereon 
the accent falls, whilst the others arc scarcely enunciated at 
all ; these two words, so far as their pronunciation is concern- 
ed, might be written 



<< nlri-J'gh . prpon-di its. 

Accent operates precisely in the same way in the pronun- 
ciation of the Italian words : the vowel of the syllable upon 
which the accent falls, is clearly and perceptibly enunciated : 
whilst the others must have no more of their sound than what 
is necessary to acquaint the car with their actual existence. 

A correct disposition of the accent is of equal rigour in both 
languages: were an Englishman to place the accent of the word 
preponderance on the der, instead of the pon, he would 
scarcely be comprehended ; and so in Italian, he might a-- well 
hope to be understood by a native of Italy in the language "I 
Cheops, as in miaaecentuated Italian. 

Our space will not admit of our giving rules for the guidance 



COMPOSITION. 63 

of the learner in this important matter, sufficiently ample to be 
clearly understood. The learner will find a set of rules for the 
accentuation of the verb in any of the grammars,* and all the 
other words of the language will be found printed with an 
accent in a pronouncing dictionary.! We may remark here, 
with regard to these last, that though the words alter their 
form, and are subject like the verb to a variety of change, 
the accent is invariable ; letters may be taken away, or others 
added, but the stress of the voice must always be thrown upon 
the same syllable. 

There is one case, and one case only, in which Italian words 
are written with an accent ; this is when the stress of the voice 
must be thrown upon the last syllable, as in such words as cost, 
cid, and such like. An accent is also used to distinguish one 
word from another that resembles it in orthography ; for 
example, the verb e is written with an accent to distinguish it 
from the conjunction e. The word se\ himself, is written 
with an accent to distinguish it from se, if; and so with others. 
Under both these circumstances the grave accent is used, no 
other kind of accent being employed in writing Italian. 

The foregoing remarks will enable the learner to comprehend 
the nature of accent, so far as it affects the pronunciation of 
the words; they will not instruct him where to place the accent, 
but he is told how he may find this out. 



COMPOSITION. 

There is the treasure. Were there two travellers 

There is the traveller. killed ? 

There are the men. Did they bring you any food ? 

There are the philosophers. Did they bring you any poison? 

There was a traveller poisoned. Did they treat you well? 

There were three men killed. Did they say anything to you? 

Is there poison in the food ? He found us. 

Are there any travellers on the He bought us the meat. 

road ? He brought us something to 
Was there a philosopher killed ? eat. 

* The best set of rules we have seen, are those contained in the 
Elements de la Langue Italienne, by Sforzosi. 
f That of Meadows is the most accurate we have met with. 



64 



COMPOSITION. 



He passed us on the road. 

They were there. 

The philosopher was there. 

All the travellers were there. 

They found the treasure there. 

They killed their companion 
there. 

Is he here ? 

He is here. 

Was the philosopher here ? 

Yes, he was here. 

When was he here ? 

Who has been here ? 

There were two men here. 

Were the three travellers In n f 

No, they were not. 

Did they bring it to you ? 

He brought some of it to me. 

Did they find it there ? 

Did they say anything to you? 

Who is here ? 

Where is the philosopher? 

There is no harm. 

They brought us some. 

Have you any meat ? 

Bring me some. 

Buy some poison and bring it 
to me. 

Give me some coffee. 

Give me something to eat. 

Poison the meat. 

Eat it. 

Bring me dinner. 

Treat him well. 

Get rid of that philosopher. 

The traveller who went away 
bought poison, put it in 
the meat, found a philo- 
sopher, said something to 
him, and assassinated his 
companion; the other two 
said " we are hungry," 
ate the poisoned meat, 
and so died. 



Go to Rome. 

Find the treasure. 

Go and find the philosopher, 
treat him well, buy some 
poison, and bring it to 
me. 

Do not go away. 

Do not buy poison. 

There is not a traveller on the 
road. 

Do not treat him ill. 

Who are those men ? 

They are Englishmen. 

That fellow killed his com- 
panion. 

Who is that traveller ? 

77<a£philosopher is an Italian. 

Bring me that. 

I want that poison. 

It is mine. 

Is this yours ? 

These are mine. 

The two travellers died in 
that place. 

Is it possible. 

Get rid of these fellows. 

Who brought this ? 

Who bought those ? 

Who found this ? 

What have they done with 
their companion ? 

They assassinated him. 

What have they done with 
the meat? 

They ate it. 

Where are the travellers ? 

Here are some of them. 

Where is the meat ? 

Here it is. 

Are the travellers dead ? 

Yes, they are. 

Are they all dead ? 

Yes, all are dead. 

Good-bye to the travellers. 



LESSON FIFTH. 



READING. 

REPETITION. 

C'e il tesoro. C'e il viaggiatore. Ci sono gli 
uomini. Ci sono i filosofi. Ci fu un viaggiatore 
avvelenato. Ci furono tre uomini uccisi. C'£ veleno 
nei cibi ? Ci sono viaggiatori sulla via ? Ci fu un 
filosofo ucciso ? Ci furono due viaggiatori uccisi ? 
Vi comprarono dei cibi ? Vi recarono il veleno ? 
Vi trattarono bene ? Vi dissero qualche cosa ? Ci 
trovb. Ci comprb la carne. Ci recb di che mangiare. 
Ci passo nel cammino. Vi furono. II filosofo vi fu. 
Vi furono tutti i viaggiatori. Vi trovarono il tesoro. 
Vi uccisero il loro socio. C'e? C'e. Ci fu il 
filosofo ? Si, ci fu. Quando ci fu ? Chi ci fu ? 
Ci furono due uomini. Ci furono i tre viaggiatori ? 
No, non ci furono. Ve lo recarono ? Me ne recb. 
Ve ne trovarono ? Ve ne dissero ? Chi c'e" ? Dov'e 
il filosofo ? Non c'e male. Ce ne recarono. 
Avete della carne ? Recatemene. Comprate del 
veleno e recatemelo. Datemi del caffe. Datemi 



66 READING. 

di che mangiare. Avvelenate la came. Man- 
giatela. Recatemi il pranzo. Trattatelo bene. 
Disfattevi di quel filosofo. II viaggiatore che parti 
comprb veleno, lo pose nella came, trovb un filo- 
sofo, gli disse qualche cosa ed uccise il suo socio, gli 
altri due dissero, "noi abbiam fame," mangiarono 
il cibo awelenato e cosi morirono. Andate a Roma. 
Trovate il tesoro. Andate a trovare il filosofo, tratta- 
telo bene, com prate veleno e recatemelo. Non partite. 
Non comprate veleno. Non v'e un viaggiatore sulla 
via. Non lo trattate male. Chi sono quegli uomini ? 
Sono injrlesi. Colui avveleno il suo socio. Chi e 
quel viaggiatore ? Quel filosofo e italiano. Recatemi 
quello. Mi e d'uopo qnel veleno. E mio. E cio 
vostro? Questi sono i miei. I due viaggiatori 
morirono in quel sito. E questo possibile ? Disfat- 
teci di coloro. Chi reed questo ? Chi compro questo ? 
Chi trovb questo? Che hanno fatto del loro socio? 
Lo uccisero. Che hanno fatto della carne? La 
mangiarono. Dove sono i viaggiatori ? Eccoli. 
DovV la carne? Eceola. Sono i viaggiatori morti ? 
Si, sono morti. Sono morti tutti ? Si, tutti sono 
morti. Addio ai viaggiatori. 



67 



PRONUNCIATION. 



The learner, in order to pronounce an Italian word cor- 
rectly, will have to bear in mind the sounds we have stated the 
vowels to possess ; to notice that the combinations gn and gl 
are properly enunciated, and to see that the c's and z's have 
their true sounds. He will also have to take care that he 
throws the stress of the voice on the proper syllable ; — we have 
left the learner to find out for himself which syllable this 
should be. Before reading a portion of text, we would re- 
commend him to find out, in the manner we have stated under 
the head Accent, the emphatic syllables of the words, and 
mark them with a pencil : a little pains taken in this way at 
the outset will be of great ultimate advantage. 

In pronouncing sc in Italian, the hissing sound of s com- 
bines with the soft sound of c, so that both together have the 
sound of sh in English, as scelta, select, pronounced shelta. 
Before all other consonants s has always its hissing sound ; as, 
for example, in the word sgombrare, to run away, pronounced 
es-gom-bra-re. 

It may be asked, why have we not given the alphabet ? 
The reason is, that the Italian and English alphabets are 
precisely the same; the only difference is, that the letters 
j, k, iv, x, and y, are not used in Italian, and consequently 
should not appear in the alphabet. 

We need not say anything more on the pronunciation. 
Under this head, in the four preceding lessons, all the informa- 
tion necessary to enable the learner to pronounce an Italian 
word correctly, has been embraced. The directions that have 
been given are arranged so as not to charge the memory too 
heavily. The learner is required to bear in mind the sounds 
of the five vowels, of the two characteristics, and of the few 
consonants that are not pronounced as in English ; this done, 
he will enunciate the language with sufficient accuracy for all 
the practical purposes in which he may have occasion to make 
use of it, 



68 



IDIOMS. 



We have seen that the Italian differs very widely from the 
English in a great many important particulars. When these 
points in which the two languages vary are of such a nature 
as to admit of classification, they are considered to belong to 
the syntax of the language. Under the head Construction 
of the preceding lessons, we have brought the more prominent 
features of this kind before the observation of the learner. 
There are, however, a great many isolated peculiarities in 
Italian, that must be treated individually : such an expression, 
for example, as sono le due. This phrase translated literally, 
is, there are two ; but it is equivalent to the English locution, 
it is two o'clock. Again, it is the custom to say in Italian, 
How does she find herself? even although the person addressed 
be of the male sex.* Such peculiarities are not subject to any 
specific rule, and are usually called idioms ; they constitute the 
great bulk of the popular phraseology, so that it is necessary 
for the learner to be acquainted with them. 

We shall give, as the reading exercise of the present lesson, 
such of these phrases as most frequently occur in conversation, 
or are most likely to be useful to the learner. Of these a free 
and literal translation will be given, together with the accent- 
uation of each word, so that they may be correctly pronounced. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Parlate italiano? .... Do you speak Italian :' 

Un poco A little. 

CapiSOO l'italiano, ma non lo I understand Italian, but I do 

parlo. not speak it. 

Credo che siate italiano Sig- You are an Italian, I think, 

nore ? Sir ? 

Si Signore, lo sono. Yes Sir, I am. 

• This peculiarity of addressing in the third person feminine appears 
of Eastern growth. The unsophisticated Highlanders, that are to he 
met with abundantly in the capital of Scotland, never by any chance 
use the pronoun you ; they invariably make use of the pronoun *//<•, 
and even in speaking of themselves say, her ctinaeT. This mode <>t 
expression they appear to derive from their native tongue the GaeHci 
undoubtedly of Ea tern origin. 



IDIOMS. 69 

^uanto tempo siete stato in How long have you been in 

Inghilterra ? England ? 

Come vi piace Londra ? . . How do you like London ? 

Fatemi il piacere di parlare Be kind enough to speak 

italiano. Italian. 

Vi capisco perfettamente . . I understand you perfectly 

well. 

Scusatemi .1 beg your pardon. 

Non ho capito ci6 che mi I have not understood what 

avete detto you said. 

Vorreste aver la bonta di Have the goodness to repeat. 

ripetere ? 

Fumate ? Do you smoke ? 

Volete un zigaro ? . . . . Will you have a cigar ? 

Volontieri With pleasure. 

Grazie I thank you. 

RECOGNITORY. 

Buon giorno Signore . . . Good morning, Sir. 

Come sta ? How are you ? 

Passabilmente bene, ed ella ? Pretty well, thank you. 

Sono felice di vederla ... I am glad to see you. 

Fa una bellissima mattina . There is a beautiful morning. 

Fa veramente caldo . . . It is excessively hot. 

Ebel tempo da qualche giorno The weather has been very 

fine lately. 

E vero Yes, it has. 

C'e qualche cosa di nuovo ? . Is there anything new ? 

Niente ch'io sappia . . . Nothing, that I know. 

Quando verrete a vedermi ? When are you coming to see 

me ? 

Uno di questi giorni . . . One of these days. 

Signori vi do il buon giorno . Good morning, gentlemen. 

Stia bene Signore . . . . Good-bye, Sir. 

GENERAL. 

Che ora e ? . . . . . . What o'clock is it ? 

Otto ore in circa .... About eight. 

Davvero ! Is it. 

Credo , I think it is. 

Sono occupato I am busy. 

Avete ragione . . . . . You are right. 

Ho torto I am wrong. 

Dolce far niente .... It is sweet to do nothing. 

Precisamente Quite so. 



70 IDIOMS. 

Signore, abbia la bonta di Have the goodness to tell me, 

dirmi Sir 

Come si chiama questo in What do you call that in 

italiano ? Italian ? 

Lo credete? Do you think so? 

Si, lo credo Yes, I do. 



LOCAL. 

Signora ho l'onore di pre- I wish you a good morning, 

sentarvi i miei rispetti. Madam. 

Signore ve li ricambio . . . Good morning, Sir. 

Signorina io le auguroilbuon I wish you a good morning, 

giomo. Miss. 

E questo ilcamminodiFircnze? Is this the road to Florence ? 

Vorreste aver la bonta di mos- Have the kindness to show 

trarmi la via Calzaioli ? me Calzaioli-street.* 

Vendete zigarri ? . . . . Do you sell cigars ? 

Si Signore Yes, Sir. 

Quanto la dozzina ? . . .. How much arc they a dozen ? 

Una lira A lira.t 

Sono cari They are dear. 

Volete cambiarmi uno scudo ? Will you give mc change for 

a scudo ?t 

Giovane, del carte .... Waiter, a cup of coffee. 

Che sorte di vini avete ? . . What kind of wine have you ? 

Portatemi una bottiglia di Bring me a bottle of Pul- 

monte pulciano. ciano || 

Quanto costa ? How much is it ?§ 

Dov'e l'urtizio della posta ? . Where is the post-ofiuv ? 



Intende ella Pinglese ? 

Parii inglese, la prcgo 
Cosa volete ? . . . 
Non parlo italiano . 
Sono inglese . . . 
Viva la regina ! . . 



Do you understand English 
Speak English please. 
What do you want ? 
1 do not speak Italian. 
I am an Englishman. 
God save the Queen ! 



• Tlie principal street in Florence. 

t A current coin of the Italian states, worth aboul tenpenee of 
English money. 

% A silver coin, worth about four shillings and sixpence. 
|| A favourite wine in Florence. 

I 1 1 is v. -r\ neoi -.u-y in Italy to demand the price of an article be 
!i uming it. 



IDIOMS. 71 

TRANSLATION AND PRONUNCIATION. 

We shall now give a literal English translation of the fore- 
going phrases, and in order that the learner may pronounce the 
Italian words correctly, we shall place an accent on the syllable 
of each word whereon the stress of the voice should be made to 
rest ; beyond this, nothing is wanted to enable the learner who 
has attended to our remarks on the pronunciation of the vowels 
and consonants, to pronounce the words with perfect accuracy. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Par-la'-te i-ta-li-a'-no ? Un po'-co. Ca-pis'-co 
Speak you Italian ? A little. I understand 

l'i-ta-li-a'-no, ma non' lo par'-lo. Credo che si-a'-te 
the Italian, but not it I speak. I believe that you be 

i-ta-li-a'-no, si-gno'-re? Si si-gno'-re, lo so'no. Quan'-to 
Italian, Sir ? Yes Sir, it I am. How much 

tem'-po si-e'-te sta'-to in In-ghil-ter-ra ? Co'-me vi 
time are you remained in England ? How to you 

pi-a'-ce Lon'-dra ? Fa'-te-mi il pi-a-ce'-re di par-la'-re 
it pleases London ? Do me the pleasure of to speak 

i-ta-li~a'-no. Vi ca-pis'-co per-fet-ta'-men-te. Scu-sa'-te- 

Italian. You I understand perfectly. Pardon 

mi. Non' ho ca-pi'-to cio che mi a-ve-te det'-to 
me. Not, I have understood what to me you have said. 

Vor-res'-te a-ver la bon-ta di ri-pe-tere? Fu-ma'-te? 
Will you to have the goodness of to repeat ? You smoke ? 

Vo-le'-te un zi-ga'-ro ? Vo-lon-ti-e'-ri. Gra'-zi-e. 
Will you a cigar ? Willingly. Thanks. 

RECOGNITORY. 

Bu-on' gior'-no, si-gno'-re. Co'-me sta? Ab-bas-tan'-za 
Good day, Sir. How stands? Enough 

be'-ne ed el'-la? So'-no fe-li'-ce di ve-der r -la. Fa 
well, and she ? I am glad of to see her. It makes 

un'-a bel-lis'-si-ma mat-ti'-na. Fa ve-ra-men'-te cal'-do. 

a most beautiful morning. It makes truly hot. 



72 IDIOMS. 

E bel tem'-po da qual'-che gior'-no. E ve' ro. 
There is fine weather from some day. It is true 

C'e qual'-che co'-sa di nu-o'-vo ? Ni-en'-te ch'io 
There is any thing of new ? Nothing, that I 

sap'-pi-a. Quan'-do ver-re'-te a ve-der'-mi ? Un'-o di 
may know. When will come to to see me ? One of 

ques'-ti gior'-ni. Si-gno'-ri, vi do il bu-on' gior'-no. 
these days. Gentlemen, to you I give the good day. 

Sti'-a be'-ne si-gno'-re. 
May she stand well Sir. 

GENERAL. 

Che ora e ? Ot'-to ore cir'-ca. Dav-ve'-ro ! Cre'-do. 
What hour is it ? Eight hours about. Indeed ! I believe. 

So'-no oc-cu-pa'-to. Ho tor'-to. A-ve'-te ra-gio'-ne. 
I am occupied. I have wrong. You have reason. 

Dol'-ce far' ni-en'-te. Pre-ci-sa-men'-te. Si-gno'-re, 
Sweet to do nothing. Exactly. Sir, 

ab'-bi-a la bon-tii di dir'-mi. Co'-me si chi-a'-ma 
have the goodnesB of to tell me. How itself calls 

ques-to in i-ta-li-a'-no ? Lo cre-de'-te ? Si, lo cre'-do. 
this in Italian? It believe you ? Yes, it I believe. 

LOCAL. 

Si-gno'-ra, ho l'o-no'-re di pre-sen-tar'-vi i mi'-ei 
Madam, I have the honour of to present you the my 

ris-pet'-ti. Si-gno'-re, ve' li ri-cam'-bio. Si-gno'-ri-na, 

respects. Sir, to you them I repay. Miss, 

io' le a-u'-gu-ro il bu-on' gior'-no. E ques-to il 
I to her predict the good day. Is this tho 

cam-mi'-no a Fi-ren'-ze ? Vor-reste a-vcr la bon-ta 
road to Florence ? Will you to have the goodness 

di mos-trar'-mi la vi-a cal-zai-o'-li ? Ven-de'-te zi-ga'-ri ? 
of to show me the street Calzaioli ? Sell you cigars ? 

Si, si-gno'-re. Vo-le'-te cam-bi-ar'mi un'-o scu'-do ? 

Yes, Sir. Will you to change me a icudo ' 



CONJUNCTIVES. ( .3 

Gio'-va-ne del caf-fe. Che sor'-te di vi'-ni a-ve'-te? 
Boy of the coffee. What kinds of wine you have ? 

For ta'-te-mi u'-na bot-ti'-glia di mon'-te pul-cia'-no. 
Bring me a bottle of Mount Pulciano. 

Quan'-to cos'-ta ? Do-v'e l'uf-fi'-zio delMa pos'-ta ? 

How much costs ? Where is the office of the post ? 

in-ten-de el-la l'in-gle'-se ? Par'-li in-gle'-se la pre'-go. 
Understands she the English ? Speak English her I pray. 

Co'-sa vo-le'-te ? Non par'-lo i-ta-li-a'-no. So-no in-gle'-se. 
Thing will you ? Not I speak Italian. I am English. 

Vi'-va la re-gi'-na. 

Live the Queen. 

CONJUNCTIVES. 

There are certain words and phrases made use of to connect 
sentences together, and give emphasis and expression to the 
various parts of a discourse. They are like the adverbial 
locutions already spoken of, of constant recurrence, and con- 
sequently the learner must be perfectly familiar with those that 
are most frequently made use of. The following are the con- 
junctives that are most essential in conversation, with examples 
of the manner and cases in which they are commonly employed. 

AncJie Also. 

Se partite vol, me n'andro If you go, I will go also. 
anch' io. 

Ne, ne Neither, nor. 

Non amo ne Vuno ne Valtro. I like neither the one nor the 

other. 

O Or. 

Mangero Vuno o Valtro. I will eat the one or the other. 

Oppure Otherwise. 

Vol verrete da me, oppure You must come to my house, 
verremo tutti da voi. otherwise we will all go 

to yours. 



74 CONJUNCTIVES. 

Sia, sia Either, or. 

Sia cliegli non mi credesse, Either he would not believe 
sia cKegli non sifidasse. me, or he would not con- 

fide in me. 

Pure But. 

Sard vero, pure mi sembra That may be, but it appears 
impossibile. to me impossible. 

Nondimeno Nevertheless. 

Eyli e molto economo, e vero; He is very economical, it is 
nondimeno in certe occa- true ; nevertheless, in 

sioni e assai generoso. certain circumstances, he 

is very generous. 

Tuttavia ..... Yet. 

La veritd partorisce I'odio, Truth engenders hatred, yet 
tuttavia I'uomo one&td the honest man never 

nun mente giammai. lies. 

Benche Although. 

Benche sia giovim\ bella t Although die is young, rich, 
ricca, non i uncord and beautiful, she is still 

man' fata. unmarried. 

Aikoi chc Even though. 

Ancor che morto, Jhceva ter- Even though dead, he inspired 
rore. terror. 

Per I" order. 

Per esser devoto, non si cesaa In order to be devout, it is 
d'esser uomo. not necessary to cease to 

be a man. 

Se If. 

Se potessi, vi sefvirei oolen- If I could, I would serve you 
tieri. willingly. 

Purchi Providing that. 

Tutti ri gHmeranno, purche Every one will esteem you, 
siate ones? uomo. providing that you are 

an honest man. 

11, ninh soch, . . . It beinganderetood that. 

Ben inte&OChe,/are*( a Uiodo It being understood that you 
mio. follow my advice. 



CONJUNCTIVES. 



75 



Quand'anche . . 
Quand'anche cio fosse, che ne 
concludereste ? 



Even if. 



Altrimenti . . . 
Pensate a correggervi, altri- 
menti sarete odiato da 
tutti. 

Resta a sapere . . 
Egli mi promette roma e 
to?na, resta a sapere se i 
fatli cor risponder anno 
alle parole. 

Non gid che . » . 
Lo sfuggo, non gia ch'io lo 
tenia, ma perche, ecc. 

Vale a dire . . 
La logica, vale a dire, Varte 
di pensare. 

Appunto come 
Le cose sono andate appunto 
come io Vaveva preveduto. 

Ond'J? . . . . 
Ond'e che siete si malinconicoi 

Percio 

Non Vho veduto ne ieri, ne 
stamane; percio sono an- 
dato io stesso da lui. 



If even that were the case, 
what conclusion would 
you draw from it ? 
. . Else. 

Turn over a new leaf, else you 
will be detested by every 
body. 
. * It remains to know. 

He makes me fine promises, 
but it remains to be seen 
whether he keeps them. 



Tu haipromesso; sei dunque 
obbligato a mantener la 
tua parola. 

Per consequenza 
Non gli ho promesso nulla ; 
per consequenza non gli 
debbo niente. 

Talmente che y 
Fu talmente malmenato in 
quell' incontro, che il 
cattivello ne mori. 



. . Not that. 
I avoid him, not that I fear 
him, but because, etc. 
. . That is to say. 
Logic, that is to say, the art 
of thinking. 

. . As. 
Things have come to pass as 
I anticipated. 

. . Whence is it ? 

Why are you so sad ? 
. Therefore. 

I neither saw him yesterday 
nor this morning, there- 
fore I went to his house 
myself. 
. . Therefore. 

You promised, therefore you 
are obliged to keep your 
word. 
. . Consequently. 

I promised him nothing, con- 
sequently I owe him no- 
thing. 

. . So that. 
He was so ill-used in the 
squabble, that he, poor 
fellow, died in conse- 
quence. 



70 

HOW THE LEARNER SHOULD NOW PROCEED. 

Having attained a general view of the structure of the 
language, the learner has next to make himself acquainted 
with the verbs. He will first have to make himself familiar 
with the auxiliaries avere and essere, then the three regular 
conjugations, as they are arranged in the common grammars ; 
and finally, he will have to write out carefully at full length 
all the irregulars. This done, with the aid of a good dictionary, 
he will be able to peruse an Italian author. We would suggest 
as the first book, the Commedie Scelte di Goldoni; next, Le 
Mie Prigioni di Silvio Pellico, and then, perhaps, I Pr&- 
messi Sposi di Manzoni. When the learner has attained an 
acquaintance with the verbs sufficient to enable him to detect 
any part of an irregular he may meet with, and so be able to 
trace it to the infinitive (the form of a verb given in the dic- 
tionaries), he should begin to translate one of the authors we 
have named, taking ;i passage a time, and putting, in the 
first instance, the precise English equivalent under each Italian 
word : this done, the words being known, the entire passage 
should be written into good English, and, finally, retranslated 
back again into Italian. This last process will serve the 
learner as practice in writing Italian ; and as the accuracy of 
each exercise may be verified by comparing it with the ori- 
ginal text, the aid of a master becomes unnecessary. The 
poets should not be meddled with until perfect facility has been 
obtained in reading the prose authors. In leaving the learner 
to his own exertions, we may remark that the foregoing les- 
sons have not occupied him with trifles ; they illustrate the 
points that are usually considered the most difficult in the lan- 
guage. We have begun where elementary books most gene- 
rally terminate. By this mode of procedure, we have left the 
learner without any obstacle that can materially retard his fu- 
ture progress. We leave him at a point, whence he may pro- 
ceed without further guidance. The acquisition of Italian is 
not considered to be a task of any great magnitude : but how- 
ever easy, in comparison with other languages, Italian is not 
to be acquired without much perseverance, diligence, and as- 
siduity on the part of the student— in the words of the adage. 
Non v'i rosa senza spin, . 

Paisley :— Printed bj Nkilsom Si Mui 



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